Stranger Things 4
by Flintflames
Summary: As Hopper deals with being a Russian prisoner, Mike, El and the rest of the Party run into trouble in the states. Mike never considered himself a leader, but as a new threat establishes himself, the others are looking to him for guidance. El is still powerless, but may have found a way to get them back. Mileven centric. M for minor smut(they're 14)
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my first Stranger Things fanfiction! I'm really excited for Stranger Things season 4 and this is my way of keeping myself from feeling empty until it comes out. This will be a story following Mike, El and Hopper after the events of season 3. I'll probably tell the entire story I have planned, about 100k words, and then after that I might just fanfic freestyle and talk about normal things, like school, between the kids. It's a Mileven story for sure, but that's not the only thing going on, don't worry. But do expect that subplot to be explored quite a bit. From those of you coming from my Percy Jackson Au fanfic, I'm not done writing it don't worry. This won't take time away from it, I'm just blanking in terms of motivation for it, so i'll write it when I can. Expect updates on this every week, and if you have any desires, wants or concerns, please let me know! I'm not finished planning this story out, so don't be afraid to give me some suggestions**

July 4th

Jim Hopper has stared at the face of death many times in his life. From the numerous enemies he's killed to his own daughter dying of cancer, Hopper knows how animated death can feel. But he never could have guessed how it would feel to be staring at the face of your own death. When he flipped Grigori into the machine and the electric shockwave was formed, Jim knew he was in a tough spot.

As much as he wanted Joyce to wait and find a way to get him away from the machine, he knew they were out of options. The Russian scientists were about to break into the control center where Murray was hiding, El and the other kids were in danger, and he only knew it was a matter of time before more guards broke free into the observation room where Joyce was about to turn the machine off.

He thought of Joyce, and how he never really got to tell her how he felt about her. Sure, he made it obvious how attracted he was to her, but he never got to share how deep the attraction was. How courageous he thought she was for being a single mother, for stopping at nothing to save and protect Will and Jonothan. How she always had a sense of duty, to become something more than just a middle-aged woman who worked at a general store. He even had to admit to himself she would have been a damn good cop.

He thought of El and how shitty he had treated him the past week, and really the whole summer. For not giving her the freedom she deserved in the first place, banning her from the mall or really any place fun outside. He felt bad for never trusting her with Mike, even though he's the one that Hopper should have been the least worried about.

_Mike_. He felt he had treated Mike worse than anyone. He knew how deep Mikes feelings were for El, and it scared the shit out of him for how intimate they were getting. He knew they loved each other, and he understood that when they had first started dating. But seeing how deeply they cared about each other at the mesley age of 14 scared Hopper. Mostly because he had never felt real love himself. He wishes he could take it all back, making Mike lie to her, keeping them apart, but he knew they would figure it themselves. He knew how much he cared about her. That thought made him smile, knowing there would be someone there to always take care of her.

Hopper took one last look at the observation room. He felt tears running down his face as he nodded in Joyce's direction, essentially telling her to blow the sucker up. He couldn't see her face from this far away, but he could imagine the contemplation on her face, trying to decide what to do.

He could see her beginning to turn the keys, and Hopper closed his eyes. Wanting nothing more than the last picture in his head to her looking at him with such gratitude. But as he closed his eyes, he felt a force tugging him, and suddenly Hopper was being pulled over the ledge by a man in a red suit. The man dragged Hopper into what looked like an air vent in the middle of the floor.

Hopper looked at the man with gratitude. But before he could thank him, Hopper felt something hard smack against his head, effectively knocking him out cold.

* * *

December 18th _(5 months later_)

On a chilly December night in Hawkins, Indiana, Mike Wheeler was exactly where people could expect him to be, on top of Weathertop using Dustin Henderson's superpowered ham radio, _Cerebro_. It had been one of the only days in weeks that snow on top of the hill had been shallow enough for him to make the journey up to the hill. Some days when Mike tried to push through the deep snow, he was rewarded with a face full of snow due to his boots getting stuck and him falling face first into the ground. But hearing the sweet voice of Eleven on the other end of the radio made everything worth it.

He knew El's days mostly consisted of her waiting on the other end of her supercom for his voice to appear. He knew that she didn't have a lot to do during the day since she didn't go to school, so Mike was very committed to making the journey almost every day. But ever since snow started falling in early December, he wasn't able to use the radio as often as he would've liked.

He often begged his parents to let him call the Byers new home in Illinois, just so that he could talk to her. Even if it was only for a few minutes. They often obliged, even though they had no idea it was El he was calling.

This night however, was perfect. It was almost 40 degrees out and most of the snow had melted off the hilltop, giving Mike a nice area to lay down and talk to El. They had been talking for about an hour before Mike realised he better get home or his parents were going to start calling houses, and Mike didn't want his friends to embarrass him over his obsession with talking to El.

"I gotta go El, I'll be back tomorrow after school for sure," said Mike

He heard her sigh on the other end of the radio, and immediately Mike felt awful. He would talk to her all night if he could, but he didn't want his parents to start grounding him, that would just mean less time he has to talk to her.

"Promise?" she asks with her signature phrase.

"Promise." He tells her.

"Mike?" she asked him.

"Yeah?"

"I miss you so much," she tells him.

Mike smiled to himself, knowing El took the words right out of his mouth. But it also breaks his heart. He normally hid the fact that he was one step away from breaking down now that El and Will had moved away. But there normally isn't a minute in the day where Mike doesn't think about how much he misses her. He doesn't even think misses is the right word. _Needs her_ fits better.

"I can't even describe how much I miss you," Mike tells her honestly.

"I just want things to... go back. Back to before the bad stuff happened. When you come to me every day," El says.

His heart swells at her affection. There was a period of time, after the fourth of july, when Mike didn't really know what was going to happen to them. He supported her a lot after Hopper's death, but they didn't feel as close to her as she was in the beginning of the summer. He knew he loved her, but he didn't know if she still felt the same way after their little falling out. But after she professed her love for him, he realised she had always felt the same way. She was just able to keep her emotions in check better than him. Now that they were separated though, El had become more emotional than ever. Constantly telling Mike how she felt about him, much to his appreciation.

Mike sighed, "I do too El, believe me. But it's going to get better, I promise. Are you excited for next week?" he asked her.

Starting Thursday, the entire Byers family would be coming down to spend a whole two weeks with The Party in Hawkins. They would be staying at a small Hotel on the outer edge of town. Though Mike plans on there being a lot of sleepovers between them all.

"So excited!" El exclaims. "I can't wait to be with you. Joyce told me it's too early to pack, but I did it already anyway.

Mike chuckled, "That's awesome El, I can't wait to be with you either. I gotta go now though, I love you," He tells her.

"I love you too Mike,"

He dropped the receiver before he could rebuttal, knowing that it would turn into a chain of 'I love you's' he didn't really have time for right now. He looked down at his watch and saw it was already 9, 30 minutes late for curfew.

He sighed and started riding the long 20 minute route back to his house. As his good friend Steve Harrington would say, his ass was grass.

* * *

Surprisingly, Mike's mother wasn't too upset with him for being almost an hour late for curfew. He gave her his usual excuse, that he was talking to Will using _Cerebro. _Not a total lie, as he had about a 5 minute conversation with Will, but not the full truth either.

Karen Wheeler just sighed at him and went back to washing the dishes. Glad that he got off the hook so easily, Mike went up to his room to go get ready for bed. As he was getting dressed, he opened his dresser and found the photo El had gifted him about a week ago.

It was a photo Jonothan took of the two of them at Thanksgiving in Illinois. The picture was of the Party outside a movie theater next to a _Rocky IV _poster. They all looked so happy, and the picture was focused directly on Mike and El. El was hugging Mike tight and he had his arm wrapped around her, holding her in place. He loved the picture and it was a good reminder that he still had the rest of The Party, and was grateful for them.

But the picture also made him sad. Watching himself hold El just made him long for her touch even more.

Just as Mike thought he was going to start crying, he heard a knock on the Door, "Mike?" a soft voice whispered.

His sister Nancy appeared in the doorway. Since El and the Byers left, he and Nancy had been closer than ever. Even though Mike wasn't one to share his personal feelings with anyone(except El), it made him happy that Nancy was always there when he needed her. Whether it was school, girl problems, or just giving him a ride to school, Nancy was about as supportive of a big sister as he could ask her. But seeing the look of anxiousness on her scared him.

"We need to talk," she said

Mike tucked the picture he was looking at back into his dresser and waved for Nancy to come join him on his bed.

"I think moms are starting to get suspicious," she told him bluntly.

Mike gave her a confused look, "What do you mean she's getting suspicious?"

"She's been noticing for weeks that something is wrong with you. You're not exactly being sneaky with this whole thing."

"What thing?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "You and El dipshit,"

"Oh," Mike's face started to get pale. "What makes you think she's getting suspicious?"

"Mike, this isn't the first time you've missed curfew for 'talking to Will'," She used air quotes. "She knows you guys are close, but not talk everyday kind of close. Plus, I'm pretty sure she can hear you talking on the phone sometimes, talking all in love."

"I don't all 'in love'," Mike told her. " And I don't see what the big deal is, it's not like I'm professing my love loudly in my room like you and Jonothan."

"It's not like I have anything to hide though," Nancy says. "She hears how quietly you talk, how secretive you are about where you go after school sometimes. How you mope around the house sometimes after not getting to use the phone to call her.

"Ok, so? Maybe she just thinks I have a secret girlfriend. It's not like she's ever going to figure out who it is or anything."

Nancy shook her head as if Mike wasn't getting the point,"Mike. Mom asked me today if I thought you were gay with Will."

Mike looked at her completely shocked. Sure, Mike had never had a girlfriend before(that his parents knew of, but he was only 14 years old. Though the more he thinks about it, the more he understands his Mom's suspicion. Guys don't travel through a foot of snow up a giant ass hill just to talk to their best friend. Only love motivates you like that.

In fact, he was surprised his parents hadn't become suspicious of that earlier. It would look kind of weird from their perspective just the sheer amount of time Mike was "talking to Will.

Nancy saw the expression on his face and understood immediately. Being gay wasn't exactly smiled upon, expecially in a town like Hawkins. "I think you should tell them about her," she said.

Mike looked at her as if she was crazy," _Everything_?!"

She bit her lip and nodded, "I don't think you can make something up for this. We don't have Hopper here anymore to cover our tracks. Plus, I feel like they deserve to know she's a good person. Not some Russian spy the government was trying to catch."

Mike thought about it for a while. It wasn't that he didn't trust his parents, but they weren't exactly understanding about the time two years ago when they found out he had been hiding El in his basement. Even when he told them she was just some scared kid, his parents just looked at him with disgust. That incident put the finishing touches on Mike and his father's relationship, Ted Wheeler now looking at his son as some sort of terrorist.

But he knew deep down his parents cared for him. At least he knew his Mom did. His Dad he wasn't too sure about. He knew if his mom truly believed him, if he showed her how kind and gentle El was, she wouldn't do anything to put her in harm's way. He just wasn't sure where to begin.

Mike looked over at Nancy, "I'd be ok telling Mom, as long as you're there to back me. But there's no way in hell I'm telling Dad about her. He'd us into the government before her."

"Yeah I agree, I mean he's going to find out eventually, but I feel like we just need to lie in regards to our story with him."

Mike took her hand and looked into her eyes, a gesture he didn't do often," If we do this, do you promise to do whatever you can to keep her safe if this all backfires, I can't…" His voice starts to choke up.

She lays a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "I promise Mike, I would never do anything to hurt her. I just think we need to tell her before they all come over for Christmas. I talked it over with Joyce and she agrees this is the safest option. I trust Mom Mike, I really do.

Mike gives her a smile,"Tomorrow?" he asked.

"Tomorrow,"she agreed.

He nodded and she got up, turning towards the door.

"Just think about it Mike, all the sleepovers we can have," Nancy points out.

"Huh?"

"With the Byers," she smiled. "I get Jononthan to come over in the middle of the night, he brings El….." she said wiggling her eyebrows, waiting for him to understand.

"Stop," He was blushing a deep red.

"Don't think I didn't hear you sneaking into her room back in Illinois."

Mike suddenly became fascinated with the carpet in his bedroom,"We were just kissing," he mumbled.

Nancy gave him a pointed look,"Yeah well, pretty soon that's not all that's going to be happening. Just be careful."

He nodded as she closed his door. Mike got into his covers shortly after, not able to go to sleep after Nancy's talk. There was so much on his mind after that. He found himself playing with his Supercom that sat on his nightstand, desperate to find a station that reached all the way to Illinois.

* * *

While Mike was at school the next day, all he could think about was how he was going to have to tell his mom about everything that happened. How was he going to ever explain everything that happened? How was he going to make sure his mom wasn't going to turn El into the government? What if he got _grounded_?

Nancy and him had planned to tell their mother as soon as Mike came home from school. That way they had a few hours before their dad came home from work. Hopefully that would be enough time to tell their story, convince their mom not to tell their dad, and give her enough recovery time to not completely break down. It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was as good as any.

As Mike sat down for lunch with the rest of the party, he was very obviously encompassed in his own thoughts, so it doesn't surprise him when Dustin slaps him in the back.

"Ow!" Mike complained, rubbing his shoulder.

"Dude, we've been trying to get your attention for the last couple minutes," Lucas tells him. "Are you good?"

"His heads obviously still in lala land thinking about El," Max says. "You need to get your shit together Mike, you're going to see her in a few days."

Mike narrowed his eyes at Max. He still hasn't completely gotten over the fallout they had last summer, which resulted in Mike and El going through a rough patch in her relationship. She basically exposed Mike for being a liar and convinced El to break up with him, even though she had no context behind why Mike lied. Obviously, everything ended up just fine in the end(besides the fact that they now live 5 hours apart from each other, but he can't really blame Max for that), but he still can't ignore how bad Max treated him, even if she made some good points about him and El. It's not like she ever apologized for it either, so there was still a lot of tension between the two.

"For your information, that's not why I'm zoning out. Nice try though, you can't be right all the time."

Dustin, sensing the tension, decided to join the conversation, "Well obviously something up Mike, you can tell your old pals, can't you?

Miked sighed, "My sister's making me tell my Mom about everything."

Dustin just about choked on his chicken tender, and Lucas and Max looked at him with wide eyes.

Lucas was the first to speak up,"Now when you say _everything_, does that include-"

"Everything," Mike confirmed. "Will, the demogorgon, The Mind Flayer, last summer, Eleven-"

"She's crazy!" Dustin said. "You'll never be able to leave your house again, especially if she finds out you and El are sucking face."

"Why listen to her," Max asked. "Who died and made her leader?"\

"Hopper," Mike says with a blank face. Everyone looked at the ground following that comment. "Plus, she makes some good points. There's no were going to be able to hide El the entire time she's here. And most excuses we can possibly come up with at this point are going to sound ridiculous. She's not going to believe that Joyce Byers, single mother of two, randomly decided to adopt a 14 year old girl. It just sounds so stupid.

Mike didn't tell them about the suspicion his mom has about him and Will being gay for each other. That would just result in a ton of teasing from the others, which Mike finds pretty unnecessary.

"I mean I guess," Dustin said at last.

"If you trust your mom Mike, go for it. But you have to make sure no one else knows. There's no way any of our parents are going to understand. My mom's already skeptical about me and Erica last summer. If she finds out about this, we'll move straight out of Hawkins, no question," Lucas told him.

"I think we'll be fine, honestly. She's been suspicious for a while and has seen so much, I feel like she just hasn't put the pieces together yet."

"Yeah, but I'm willing to bet that those pieces don't consist of a strange girl with telekinetic superpowers fighting interdimensional monsters alongside 14 year old kids. Who also has the hots for their son," Dustin said. "But in all honesty, we're here for you. Just be careful.

"Yeah," Max said. "Were with you no matter what Mike, just make sure she doesn;t do anything drastic."

Lucas reached over the table and grabbed her hand, much to Mike's jealousy. What he wouldn't do to hold El's hand right now. He just gave Mike a nod, letting him know he was for it as well.

Mike sighed. This was going to be a long night for him and Nancy, he could already tell.

As he was riding home from school that day, Mike was already starting to hyperventilate. It doesn't happen to Mike often, but when it does happen, it hits him hard. He's struggled with social anxiety for most of his life, so hyperventilating wasn't uncommon for him. It normally happens to him when he's put in awkward or emotional situations. Like when he went to his first day of kindergarten and knew no one. Or when he was forced to dance with this pretty girl at his Uncle Bob's wedding in 5th grade. Most notably, when Eleven killed the Demogorgon and disappeared. Mike spent the entire night in his bed just shivering and wheezing. But he can't remember it ever being this bad.

When he arrived at his house, Nancy was waiting for him by the front door. By the time Mike got off his bike, he was about to pass out. He was struggling to breathe and tears were streaming down his cheeks. Nancy came to him quickly and wrapped him up in a hug.

"It's ok Mike, It's going to be ok," she said reassuringly. Nancy knew all about his anxiety issues. It was something he kept to himself for the longest time, not even El knew. He had decided to tell Nancy about it when El left for good in October, because she was starting to worry.

Eventually Mike started to calm down, but not without completely soaking Nancy's sweater. She didn't say anything about it and instead took Mike's hand, giving it a friendly squeeze.

"She's going to understand Mike, we're going to _make_ her understand," Nancy promised.

Mike nodded and took a few minutes to calm down even more, letting it all soak in. Finally, he told Nancy he was ready. She nodded and took Mike's hand leading him towards the door. Even though Mike physically appeared fine, he felt as if the world was going in slow motion. Every step he took made his legs feel weaker, as if they were filling up with sand.

When he and Nancy entered the house, their mom was already starting to cook dinner. She greeted them both with a smile, "Nancy, Mike, how was school?"

But as she turned around and noticed the expressions on their faces, her smile began to fade. Nancy decided to initiate the conversation first. "Where's Holly," she asked

"At Susan's house for a playdate, what's going on?" Mom asked, a concerned look covering her face.

Nancy glanced at Mike before sighing, "We have something really important to tell you, you better sit down,"

* * *

As Nancy began to tell their story about everything that's happened the last two years, Mike stayed relatively quiet, only filling in when his perspective of the story was necessary. Unfortunately, his side of the story was pretty necessary, since Nancy hadn't been as involved as he was. Especially when it came to Eleven. He began to tell her about El and her incredible powers. How she could shut doors with her mind and could find anyone in the world with a single picture.

He told her about where Will really got lost two years ago, how El had unintentionally opened up an interdimensional gateway from making contact with a creature from that world. How she helped them find Will and without her, he would most definitely be dead. He told her about the demogorgon and how El essentially sacrificed herself for their safety, only she didn;t actually die.

Nancy took over, explaining the story explaining the corrupt government. How they treated El like a lab rat and tried to cover up their own mistakes by faking Will's death. How Hopper finally figured out what they were doing with the help of Joyce Byers. How they tried to cover up Barb's death, even though Nancy figured out the truth

Next Mike told her about last year, how Will got possessed by another creature from the Upside Down, The Mind Flayer. This was way harder for Mike to explain, because he didn't really understand the full thing himself. He talked about the tunnels forming under Hawkins. Explaining how the Mind Flayer sent more monsters after them to try and invade Hawkins. He told her how El came back to them, and closed the gateway she created, saving them all. He explained how Chief Hopper had found her wandering around in the woods, and kept her safe and protected in his hunting cabin.

Mike's mom hadn't said a word this entire time, but was now starting to speak up. "I don't understand… any of this," She said. "I believe you guys, I really do. I knew something weird was going on here, but I didn't expect this."

She turned to Mike, eyes full of concern. "I can't believe you put yourself in danger like that Mike," she said, her eyes were starting to get misty. "I know you were just trying to do the right thing for that girl, but you should have come to me. You should have let the adults handle this-

"Mike's a hero, mom," Nancy said. "He helped Eleven when everyone told him not too, because he knew deep down she was just a scared little girl, not some sort of freak. He led an assault down to the heart of the Mind Flayer lair( **A/N I have no idea what to call the tunnels from season 2. Hopefully you understand what I mean)**, he came up with the idea all by himself, just so the monsters would be distracted from El, and it worked! If Mike hadn't come up with that idea, we would all be dead right now. I wish I had that much courage.

Mike's mom looked stunned. Mike turned towards Nancy, mouthing her _thank you_. She just smiled at him, gesturing for him to continue. So Mike continued his story, telling his Mom about how the Russians built starcourt in Hawkins, building an underground lair to try and make an interdimensional gateway, just like El. He told his Mom about how the Mind Flayer, and how it never left Hawkins. Now that another gate was open, it started building its army again. Mike explained how Billy Hargrove was the first host, and how he turned others to help the Mind Flayer build it's new body.

He told his Mom how this was all to stop Eleven, and how Joyce and Hopper had closed the gate before the monster could kill her, but not without the expense of Hopper's own life. Mike then explained that the Byers took El away with them to Illinois, as she was essentially an orphan now.

When he was finally done, he looked over at his mother, who was still listening intently.

Then, his mom started to ask a ton of questions, which he figured was fair. Nancy answered most of them, deflecting the more personal ones. When she was finally done, Mike explained to her the most important rule of all of this, to never tell anyone.

"Not even Dad," Mike said. "You know how he is with the government and stuff, he'd probably turn El in and it wouldn't be fair."

"Oh Mike, I promise honey," his mom answered."I would never do anything to put her in danger, and I feel like your father might do something drastic if he found out."

"Exactly," Nancy said. "He wouldn't get it. But I know you will, because you care about us."

Then, before Mike could stop her, Nancy began to tell their mother about him and El. "Mike and El also are madly in love with each other, so you couldn't do that to him. Like, practically attached-"

"Nancy!" Mike said slapping her arm.

"What, we agreed to tell her everything, didn't we?" she asked.

"Yeah but that's personal!"

"Is this true Mike," His mother asked him suspiciously.

"I mean yeah, we were sort of dating each other."

"_Sort of_? Mike's just being weird. They are totally in love with each other. I even heard him say he loves her."

"Ok so moving away from that totally unnecessary comment," Mike said, glaring at Nancy.

Nancy just rolled her eyes, "Mrs Byers is coming here on Thursday, so she can help explain this to you more. Mike and I hope you can understand."

"I don't think I can ever fully understand what you guys went through, but I'll give you my word that no one's going to find out." his mother said smiling.

They all hugged, and Mike went up to his room. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his chest, like he didn't have to hide anything anymore. The first thing he did was take the picture of El and his friends out from his dresser and put it into the center frame on his desk. Know that his mom knew about her, he didn't fear displaying it out in the open, and there was no way his dad would come in here, much less question him about one of his friends.

"Knock Knock?" his mom said as she entered the room.

Mike gestured for her to come in, and she sat down next to him on his bed. They both sat in silence before his mom spoke up, "I'm sorry Mike," she told him honestly

"For what?" he asked her.

"For not being there for you, but also for not giving you more respect earlier," she said. "I know that if Nancy's complimenting you on your bravery, you must have really been something."

He gave her a weak laugh, and she pulled him into a hug. "Now about this El girl-

"Mom!" he said clearly annoyed.

"I'm not trying to be weird Mike, but I mean i wouldn't mind if you told me a little bit about her."

He should have sunk down into his mattress from embarrassment, but he found himself ok talking to his mom about El, most likely because he doesn't get to talk about her often. "She's awesome," he smiled

"I can't wait to meet her," his mom smiled back at him.

The thought of El meeting his mom made him cringe a little, but he figures he needs to prepare her a little for their inevitable meeting. "She's really shy, but super cool once you get to know her. Her vocabulary is limited obviously, since she grew up without people talking to her much, but she gets better every time I talk to her. So don't get confused if she talks to you like a third grader sometimes."

"Is she pretty," his mom asked.

Mike sighed and gave his mom the newly framed picture on the table in front of them, figuring it would be best for his mom to be the judge of that.

"Oh Mike, she's beautiful!" his mom said, looking shocked.

She really was, with her long, brown hair that swept past her shoulders now. Her big, brown eyes that made him melt inside when he looked at her. Her cheekbones were high and pointed, helping expose her beautiful dimples whenever she smiled. As she got older, her body began to develop nice, rounded curves. Matching well with her long and toned legs. It was safe to say that if El went to school, almost every guy in his freshman class would be after her, because she was for sure the prettiest girl he's ever seen.

"Is it true what Nancy said, about how you guys love each other?" his mom asked.

"We've been through so much together, I can't imagine a life without her at this point."

"This long distance thing must be hard for you guys then." his mom pointed out.

Mike nodded, not even wanting to get into the details of how much he misses her, in fear he's going to embarrass himself even more.

"Now what-

"You've used up your maximum El questions for the day," he told her her a little annoyed

She raised up her hands,"Ok, Ok, I won't push." As she was leaving, she stopped in the doorway, giving him a smile."I'm really proud of you Mike."

Mike rarely gets compassion from his parents. Like, real genuine compassion. His mom telling him she's proud just about made his day.

And later that night as he was falling asleep, he couldn't help but to silently thank his sister, knowing she totally made the right call. Seeing El this week was just about to get a hell of a lot better, just as long as he could survive his curious mother.

**Whew! That's the end of chapter 1. I apologize for all the grammar mistakes I made. This is my first time writing in 3rd person, so you have to bear with me a bit, I'll get better as we go along. I understand I keep switching between past tense and present tense when writing this story, but I'm not sure how to fix that to be totally honest. I'm going to ask my english teacher this week to see if she can give me some pointers. But either way the next chapter should be a little clearer on what direction I'm taking in regards to that. I'm sorry if I didn't explain the Social anxiety, hyperventilating thing very well. This is a problem I actually have myself, and I figured Mike probably has it given his personality type. Anyway, if you have social anxiety or really anxiety in general, you know what I'm talking about in regards to that. Thank you all for reading! Chapter 2 should come out soon considering my Stranger things motivation is sky high. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Quick authors note before you get started, I just wanted to thank everyone for viewing this story and giving it a follow. I got more views on the one chapter than I had in any of my previous stories on other accounts, So I wanted to thank everyone for giving this a read! Chapter 3 probably won't be out till next week again as I have to make a final push for third quarter grades. On another note, Basketball just ended so I should have even more time to write now! So chapters should be coming out a lot more frequently after this one. Enjoy the story. :)**

December 21st (Kamchatka Russia)

168\. 168 days Hoppers spent in almost complete isolation in a Russian prison. 168 days he's spent away from Hawkins, Indaina. The place he's considered his home for so many years, even when he wasn't living there. He figured that after not showing up to work for 168 days, he had most likely been terminated from his position as chief. But he figured there were more important things to be worrying about right now.

Like how the _hell _he was going to get out of this horrible situation he had been put in. When Hopper first arrived, he had been put into a holding cell that looked like it was meant for temporary visitors. Because of how often people got pulled from the cells around him, and based on the horrible cries he heard from within the prison minutes after they were pulled, Hopper figured he was as good as dead in a couple of days.

But his time never came. Every day for about a week, Hopper was given a cup of water and a slice of bread from one of the guards. Even though the bread was stale and the water tasted rusty, they were still feeding him the basic nutrients he needed to survive. That led him to believe they at least wanted him alive, but for what reason? Hopper had no idea.

His question was answered on the 7th day, when two of the guards grabbed him and dragged him into another room. In the room there was a single chair and a coil of rope. Waiting for him was a man dressed in a business suit, who Hopper assumed was a translator, and quite possibly the scariest man he had ever seen in his life.

He wasn't all that big, maybe 6 feet tall and all of about 200 pounds, but the expression he wore on his face was dark and cold. His military uniform was decorated with about a dozen medals, all of them displayed proudly. On his face was a massive scar stretching across his right cheek that said he meant business.

The guards continued to drag him into the room and tied him to the chair in the middle of the room. Once they were finished, they left the room quickly, not even uttering a greeting to the men. Once the door was shut behind them, the commander looking guy started asking gym questions. All of which were translated by the man in the business suit back to Hopper.

The first thing they asked him was if he knew about the "Doorway" they were creating in Hawkins, and if he knew about the "Other World".

"Yeah, no shit I know about the Doorway, there's a reason why I was trying to shut that thing off. And this 'Other World' you guys are talking about is a hellhole. You guys are insane for trying to open that thing back up."

After the man translated what he said, the commander looked at him and laughed, almost like he was amused. They next asked him if he had any encounters with the Portal that was previously opened in Hawkins.

"Yeah, damn right I did. A kid got captured by one of those monsters and I had to go in to try and get him out. We weren't there fast enough though, the monster killed him."

The man translated once again, this time a little slower. If they knew Hopper was lying, they didn't show it.

The third and final question they asked him surprised him, mostly because of how random yet relevant it was.

"Do you know who Dusin Henderson is?"

Hopper tried to hide the shock and concern on his face, but he's not sure if he did a very good job. It wasn't his first time getting interrogated though, so he was good at hiding his emotions.

"No idea," he responded flatly.

This time he could tell they didn't really believe him, but they didn't push him any further. Within a few minutes, the guards came and took him back into his holding cell.

He stayed there for about another week until he transferred to prisons.

The new prison was pretty similar to the old one, except he as a prisoner had a lot more freedom. Every day, he and the other prisoners were tied to shackles and forced to work on a railroad that the Russians were building. It was hard, gruesome work, but it definitely beat sitting in a holding cell for days on end. It was honest work as well, because after sunset, he and the other prisoners were fed and given time to shower.

Overall, his life could definitely be worse in Russia, and he was grateful to still have his life. Working gave him a lot of time to think about what the Russian commander had said and how the others could still be in danger back in the States. He wondered if Joyce and Murray had gotten away from Russians in time. He wondered if El and the others had survived their fight with the Mind Flayer.

The more he thought about it, the more worried he was that El had not made it out of the mall alive. Hopper figured if she was still alive, she would have found some way to contact him through the Void. Although he wasn't entirely sure how the Void worked, he knew that if El had been watching him, he would be able to feel her presence. So far Hopper had felt or seen nothing, and that made him worry.

"_She probably thinks you're dead_," he thought to himself. "_Or maybe she just doesn't want to find you_."

He knew he was just jumping to conclusions, and that El would try and find him if she knew he was alive. Still, it's concerning that it's been 168 days and he's heard nothing. And if El is still alive, she's his only hope of possibly getting out of here.

* * *

December 21st (Bloomington, Illinois)

El considered herself to be a very patient person. She had spent 12 years of her life locked in isolation without ever seeing the outside world. She had spent over 300 days locked in a cabin unable to see her first real friends she had ever made, while they thought she was dead. She had even been patient with Will and Jonothan when they taught her how to do different subjects in school, even though she still has no idea what a lot of it means. However, El started to get very impatient as she started to pack for their trip back to Hawkins.

As she started to pack basic things like clothes and makeup, El started to realize that she was really going back, and it hit her like a truck. She packed the rest of her things super fast, and proudly set her new suitcase in the living room, sitting on top of it and perfectly content on staying there until they left the next morning. She sat there for hours, not even moving until Will came home from school, took one look at her, and shook his head.

"El were not leaving for another-" he squinted at his wrist watch "-15 hours. If I were you I'd find something else to do in the meantime."

El groaned, "15 hours! We should just leave right now!"

"We can't check into the Hotel until tomorrow," he told her apologetically. "I know you miss them and trust me, I do too. But we're almost there! Tomorrow by this time, we'll all be in Mike's basement hanging out like we should be. C'mon, you can help me pack."

It had been a while since El had seen Will so enthusiastic. Ever since they had moved away from Hawkins, Will had not been the same person. Sure, he was always quiet, something El could understand. But he was always at least making jokes, and at the very least giving them a smile. Since they moved though he has been very independent, even more so than Jonothan.

At first it scared El. Sure, the two of them had never really been that close back in Hawkins. But they had sort of an unspoken bond when it came to trama. El understood to a degree what Will had gone through the last couple of years, and in a way he sort of understood what she had gone through. They both understood that they were different than everyone else, so in turn it brought them closer together. But ever since last summer, Will had been regarding her a little coldy, and wasn't as friendly as he had been at first.

El first noticed small things with Will, like how when her and Mike got close and personal near him, he shifted his feet awkwardly and wouldn't look in their direction. When she began to question Mike about it, he assured her that all people get a little uncomfortable when a couple start to get all touchy in public, and that she shouldn't worry about it. But there were other things with Will as well. Like how he wouldn't really talk to her individually, almost like he was afraid of her. Or how he always got mad at Mike and El for leaving when they were all hanging out.

Eventually, the things she noticed got more obvious. How Will would always ask Mike and Lucas to hang out alone. Or how he would steal glances at her almost out of spite, as if El had been his enemy. Eventually, she just came to the conclusion that Will just didn't like her, which kinda made her sad considering she wasn't sure what she did. Lucas, Dustin and Max were her friends, so why couldnt Will be her friend?

Then, when El had moved in with him and his family, Will had started to be more friendly towards her. He always made sure she felt comfortable in her new home, and assured her she wasn't intruding on him or his family. But when they moved to Bloomington, it's almost like Will hit the reset button on their friendship. In fact, it feels like he hit the reset button on his relationship with everyone. He had become angry with his mother for moving them away from Hawkins. He barely asked Jonothan any questions, which according to Jonothan, used to happen pretty frequently. When El would receive a call from Mike, Will would refuse to talk to him or any of his friends in Hawkins. He only talked to them when they practically forced El to hand him the receiver, which was as dangerous as playing with fire.

Ironically, it seemed like El was the one he was the friendliest to now. Always helping her with her workbook problems Joyce would give her to practice. He even showed her how to make mixtapes while she was home alone, which she could never thank him enough for. Still though, sometimes he looked at her with that same coldness he used to in Hawkins that she never understood. Was it envy? Hate? Pity? El wasn't sure, but at least they were making progress in the time they've lived together. Things started to look up even more when all their friends came to visit them a month ago, so El was hoping that this trip to Hawkins would fix him for good.

As she started to help Will pack, El started to think about her other friends. Well, Mike in specific. There wasn't a day that went by where she didn't think about the time they spent together back in Hawkins. He had saved her, given her a life that she never thought she could have, even when his friends told him he was crazy. He had called her for 353 days straight. When everyone told him that she was dead, Mike still believed. He had even led a full blown assault into the Mind Flayer lair back in Hawkins, in hopes of distracting it from her, and it worked.

And she _loved _him for it all. She loved him for just being his kind, generous, courageous self.

But last summer, things started to get weird between them. She felt herself wanting him more. _Needing_ him more. Everytime he came over to visit, they got more physical with one another. Although Mike never complained, she still felt bad about it. She felt she was using him, and it started to make herself feel self-conscious about the amount of time she spent with him. Hopper had once told her that teenage relationships weren't meant to be serious, that they were more meant to be friends more than anything. Yet, she knew the feelings she felt for him were intense, more than just a 'teenage relationship'.

After he had lied to her about coming over one day, El had felt betrayed. She wanted to hang out with him more than anything else in the world, and knowing that he didn't feel the same way, had crushed her. After she started hanging out with Max, she felt herself developing more of a personality; a style. It wasn't just her new clothes though, she felt herself developing a style in the way she speaks and in the way she acts. Yet, the style change didn't help her situation with Mike, because she was still mad and desperately in love with him.

After he told her why he had lied to her, she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, yet she was still really mad. The time they spend between each other should be a decision made between Mike and El, not between Mike and Hopper. She was mad at him for not standing his ground, and he had been saying all the wrong things to her.

However, when she overheard him tell the group about his concerns for her safety, and how he was afraid of losing her because he loved her, El's heart just about melted into a puddle. She wanted to immediately forgive him for everything, she wanted things to go back to the way they were before.

Unfortunately, the Mind Flayer had other plans. El and Mike had to wait and reconcile a lot later than she would have liked. However, she was more sure of her feelings for him than ever. She knew that she loved him more than anyone else, the distance helped with that. It's a little too early to be thinking about it, but she already knows she wants to be with him for the rest of her life. She knows that this isn't just a 'teenage relationship', but something so much more. That night where he rescued her in the woods, she gained way more than just a home.

She gained the love of her life.

* * *

After a couple of hours, Joyce and Jonothan came home from work to help cook them dinner. It was something Joyce insisted on every night, having a meal together as a family. It was nice, being there together and getting to talk about their days. But El had to admit, it made her a little uncomfortable. It was like there was a mountain topped with problems right in front of them, and they just chose to ignore it on a nightly basis.

They rarely talked about all the stuff that happened back at Hawkins. Joyce practically forbids it. The only thing that Joyce occasionally asks El is if her powers had come back, which is always followed by a sad no. In truth, El wasn't even sure if her powers were back or not, because she had stopped checking after she left Hawkins. They were just a bad reminder of the hero that she never was, never could be. She had failed at saving so many people from the Mind Flayer, when everyone was counting on her. Even if her powers had returned, she felt that she didn't deserve to use them.

Even though she's as sad about Hoppers death more than anyone, she felt like it was a huge wake up call for all of them. That they weren't invincible and shouldn't be messing with things so dangerous. Before it was different, El had opened the gate, so she felt it was her responsibility to close it. It felt like something that was possible, something she could control. But when the Russians opened up another portal by themselves, she realised how hopeless it all was, how outmatched they were. Even though Dustin and Mike were smart, the Russians had people smarter. Even though Steve is a good fighter, the Russians have people who are better. Even though El can close the portals, the Russians have people who can open and close the portals.

They can't win, they're outmatched this time, and that thought depresses her.

After dinner, El sat down on her bed and began reading "**To Kill a Mockingbird**." Joyce made her read about an hour every day to expand on her literary knowledge. Overall, it helped her a ton. She felt herself using expressions she hadn't felt comfortable using before, and her vocabulary had definitely expanded. Joyce had told El that if she wants to start school next year, she would have to show everyone she was ready, and the best way to do that was by studying like a regular kid.

Overall, El didn't see the appeal to reading. Mike had told her once that the point of it was to get yourself invested in a world that wasn't entirely the same as yours, and find characters you can feel and relate too. El didn't really feel that when she read. Maybe it was because she didn't fully understand the world that she lives in yet, so there really wasn't anything to compare it too. The only thing that excited her about finishing the book was the fact that Mike had read it before, so they would have something else to talk about once she was done.

While El was reading, she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," said El.

Joyce peered her head in through the door and greeted El with a smile. El smiled back, but she silently groaned to herself. Today was Wednesday, meaning Joyce was here to read through a health book with El so she could learn about "puberty" and "sex".

El absolutely hated talking about this, even with Joyce. Every week she was confused about what she had left to learn, and every week she was surprised by how much more there was that she didn't know. El knew what sex was, she knew about periods(she had recently started obulatiing last spring), so she really didn't know what else she could talk that could really be important.

Boy, was she wrong.

The lesson was going pretty ok, they were talking about how her breasts and butt were going to start getting bigger as she got older, and they probably already started to. But El was taken aback a little bit when Joyce suddenly shut the book and took El's hand, looking her dead in the eyes.

"El, we really havn't talked much about sex, have we," Joyce stated.

"Uh, we kinda did," El said awkwardly. "You told me it's how you make kids, the man sticks his -"

Joyce cut her off, "Ok, but we didn't _really _talk about sex yet, did we."

El was confused, "I'm not sure I understand."

"Well…." Joyce took a deep breath. "We didn't really talk about, ya know, teenage sex."

"Teenage sex," El repeated. "I thought people have sex when they are old and have jobs?"

"Well… Yes and no," Joyce said."People have _kids_ when they are older. People normally start having sex when they're younger."

"But why?" El asked.

Joyce got up and started looking around her room, clearly uncomfortable."Well, the thing is, sex feels kindoff, well. Sex feels-"

"Good?" El said"

"Yes, good. It feels really good. Remember those magazines I told you to read."

"Yes," El said. "I read some of the stuff and tried it myself, it felt nice"

"Ok, good" Joyce gave her an awkward thumbs up. "So, what you can do to yourself, feels even better when you have a boy doing it."

"It does?" El asked

"Yeah, way better. But normally you should only do it with a boy who you love, someone you know you are going to be with for a very long time."

"Like Mike!" El said excitedly.

Joyce put her hand on her face, clearly upset at herself for falling into her own trap. "No! Well, I mean yes, but no. You guys are way too young. Like, 20 years too young."

"But you just said-"

"Forget what I said about that," Joyce said with a dismissive hand. "All you need to know is that sometimes people have sex just for fun, not to have kids."

"But Will always talks about how Jonothan has sex," El said. "He says he makes sure she doesn't have kids, and they are not much older than me."

Joyce had a pained look on her face, clearly from El talking about her son having sex. "Well, yeah sure. But those guys are different than you and Mike, they know they are going to be together for a long time."

El got angry at this, "We do know! I want to be with him forever, and he told me he loves me more than everything and just wants to be with me."

Joyce sighed, clearly giving up on this conversation. "Look, I've never had to talk to someone about this before. Obviously, I'm not doing a very good job here. How about I just give you this-" she pulled out a similar magazine to the one El had received earlier,"- and you talk to me if you have any other questions. Or better yet, talk to Nancy or Max about it sometime when you get to Hawkins. But only to girls that you trust, don't go talking to Mike and the others about this stuff, it's just like the period talk, ok?

El was very much _not_ ok, but she took the magazine. She thanked Joyce, even though it was an awkward talk, started reading as soon as Joyce left the room.

The contents she learned from the magazine made her excited, scared, and nervous all at once. The only thing she knew for sure was that she and Max were going to need to talk during their trip, because El was more confused than ever.

The next morning was full of excitement and anxiousness. Her and Will were practically bouncing off the ceiling in anticipation while Jonthan and Joyce tried to make sure they had everything they needed. After they were finally set to go, it was decided that Will and El would ride with Joyce and Jonthothan would ride by himself to leave enough room for the luggage.

When the car finally started and they finally got onto the road, El felt like she was going to faint from the excitement. She was so excited to see her friends, excited to see _Mike_. Even after the new information she had learned yesterday, she still wanted to see him. She actually wanted to see him even more now, if that was normal. With her head pressed against the window, El started to hope again, because she was finally going back to Hawkins.

She was going back _home_.

* * *

Back in Hawkins, Mike Wheeler was on the verge of literally shitting himself of pure excitement. El and Will would be returning back to Hawkins in a few hours, and he could not wait to see them. When Mike gets excited, he starts bouncing his legs up and down uncontrollably .It's pretty controllable when he's at home, because he can just walk around. Unfortunately, he was in this 4th period math class right now taking a test, and the people sitting around him weren't very understanding of his problem.

"Dude, can you stop?" some guy next to him asked.

"I'm sorry, some friends are coming to visit tonight and I'm just excited," he told the guy honestly.

"Did I ask?" he said rudley.

"Gentleman!" His math teacher yelled. "Do you guys want 0's?"

"No," they both gumbled.

"Then stop talking!"

After that class, Mike was on to his favorite part of highschool; lunch. Lunch was the only time in the day where the party could all hang out together. He had the others in a few classes each, but they didn't have one that everyone was in. So lunch was a good time for them to get caught up on all the drama from the day.

Normally it consisted of Dustin telling them all stupid storys while Max and Lucas argue about something stupid, and Mike just ends up eating his food quietly. Contributing just enough to the conversation so that they don't notice he's being quiet, and it normally works. However, today was different. Everyone was ecstatic to see Will and El again back in Hawkins. So Mike had no problem contributing to the activities they were planning on doing while El and Will were home.

"I figure we can go down to the quarry for a night, just the six of us. That way we could all have some privacy and catch up on everything," Lucas suggested.

Mike gave him a blank look, "You really think our parents are going to go for that? Six fourteen year old kids going camping by a quarry, when two of them are girls?"

"We can make something up," Dustin said, brushing it off. "It's not like we haven't done it before."

"True," Mike agreed. "I think it sounds like fun to be honest."

Max fake gasped, "Mike Wheeler just thought something outside of his basement might be fun? El's got you wrapped around her finger doesn't she."

"Pretty sure she would do whatever he told her too as well to be honest," Dustin pointed out.

"Yeah true," Max said. "She would follow him if he jumped off a bridge."  
The others laughed and even Mike managed a weak smile. He couldn't get made at them on such a perfect day. He was going to get one of his best friends and girlfriend back for today. Nothing could possibly ruin it.

"So while we're at the quarry, I was thinking we could try doing something different." said Dustin

Mike looked at him suspiciously, "Different how exactly."

"Well we are in highschool now, and we have to make these few moments we get with the entire group memorable." He shifted his feet awkwardly. "So I was thinking maybe I can ask Steve if he could hook us up with some alcohol when we go up, and we can all drink our first time together."

Max didn't even hesitate, "I'm in, if were going to have watch Mike and El make out all night it might be better if we were drunk while doing it,"

Lucas looked a little hesitant. He looked over at Mike for confirmation, but Mike just shrugged his shoulders. "I mean I guess we could, as long as we don't get in trouble.

"I really don't think it's a good idea, but i'm not gonna be the one guy who says no," Mike admitted honestly. "We'll have to see what Will and El say."

Everyone nodded at that. They ate in comfortable silence after that, until Lucas spoke up. "What if the weather gets really bad? I mean it's the middle of the winter, we could get some massive snow storm.

Dustin shook his head, "Lucas my friend, it's been over 50 degrees for the last week and it hasn't snowed all year. For whatever reason, it looks like we're not going to get a winter this season."

"That is kind of weird," Mike said. "It's been unusually warm this year, and the weather forecast said it's supposed to be even hotter this next week."

"I mean what are you suggesting? The _Mind Flayer _is changing the weather now. But instead of the cold he usually likes, he's making it hot." Dustin teased, attempting to make a joke.

No one laughed, and Mike just stared down at his sandwich. "I'm just saying, it's weird and nobody's talking about it. But who cares? Better for us am I right?

Max laughed at his sorry attempt at a tension breaker. But it did its job, soon the conversation shifted into something Dustin said to the health teacher that got him detention for the day.

Mike realized he had never thought about the Upside Down having anything to do with the heat wave, and he was glad he hadn't. It was just the biggest heatwave the United States had seen in years, nothing to worry about.

Right?

* * *

When Mike got home from school, he immediately went up to his room to use his Supercom.

"El? Will? Do you copy?

Mike waited a few minutes listening to some static, but a few seconds later he heard Will's voice on the other side of the radio. "Mike? It's Will. We just got to the Hotel about an hour ago. We should be coming over in a couple hours."

Mike was so happy to hear that they had made it. He came to the conclusion the only way he wouldn't be seeing El or Will today was if they somehow got in a car crash on the way down. Now that he knew that it didn't happen, he was even more excited.

"I'm so glad your back," Mike told him honestly, "I'll tell the others and well be waiting here for you guys. My mom's making meatloaf for all of us, so I hope you're hungry.

"Oh, I will be," Will laughed. "I love my mom and all, but there's only so much of her lousy cooking I can before I need some real food."

Mike laughed, "See you later Will, tell El I said hi."

"She's gonna be sorry she missed you, her and Joyce went down to the front desk to get some extra pillows, she's been waiting here the whole time we've come. See ya Mike!

With that, Mike changed the Supercom station to tell the others what time to be at his house, and started to get ready,

Two hours later the entire party had arrived at his house and were all sitting in Mike's basement, while Mike tried to fix his pathetic excuse for hair.

"Cmon you piece of shit," he yelled at the mirror. The comb was just not working for him, so he decided to call in the big guns, Nancy.

She was pretty confused when he told her the situation. "Why the hell are you trying to fix your hair, you've never fixed your hair.

"I want to look nice," he told her. "My hair is a total mess right now.

"Yeah but it's always a mess. Trust me Mike, she probably won't even notice if you fix it. Even if she does, she'll probably like messy hair Mike better.

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I do," she smiled. "Plus it's just gonna get all ruffed up by the end of tonight anyway, might as well save yourself some time."

"Oh screw you," he rolled his eyes. "Go look through your human anatomy textbook to make sure you know what goes where tonight."

"Oh I do Mike, trust me. I think I might be needing to lend it to you though, probably by the end of the week."

"I'm leaving," he muttered, walking out of the bathroom to the sound of Nancy's laughter.

Just as he went down the stairs, walking past his sleeping sister and father on the recliner, he heard a car pull up to their driveway. Mike felt like his legs were going to melt right into a puddle.

"There here," Mike yelled down to the basement.

Soon, he was accompanied by his friends as they rushed out the front door to their driveway. Parked in the Wheeler driveway was Joyce's Green Ford Pinto(ugly ass car) and getting out of the seats were a boy and a girl. Will and El.

When he looked over at El, his heart skipped a beat. He swore she got more beautiful every time he saw her. She was wearing her flannel long sleeve shirt with a pair of long, cream pants. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, giving her beautiful face more room to shine. Her big brown eyes were full of fear and confusion, as if she was looking for someone.

Then they made eye contact.

Mike felt like time completely slowed down around them, and they were all alone in their own world. He watched as her fearful face turned into a beautiful smile, tears streaming down her cheeks. Mike felt his face doing the same, almost mirroring hers.

She suddenly rushed towards him, as if nothing else mattered. "Mike!" El screamed.

She jumped up into his arms and wrapped her legs around his tall frame, pulling him into a deep hug. He felt her sobbing into his chest. He brought her face up to his and pulled her into a deep kiss. It wasn't intense, but it was needy. They needed to feel each other, to _kiss _each other after so many weeks of not seeing each other.

They could have stayed like that forever before he heard a cough, they pulled away and saw Mrs. Byers smiling sheepishly at them. "Sorry to interrupt, but you guys should probably hold back on that so your neighbors don't get the wrong idea."

"Yeah, Yeah of course. Sorry about that. Great to see you again Mrs. Byers," he pulled Mrs Byers into a hug. "

They all exchanged hugs and tears with each other in the front lawn. Jonothan left to go see Nancy inside the house, but the rest of them stayed there for another 15 minutes. The whole party shared a group hug in the middle, and Mike thought he had never been so emotional.

"I promise I'm not crying guys, I promise!" Dustin said with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Yes you are," El said crying. "I see the water."

They all laughed and kept hugging one another. They could have stayed that way all night, but Nancy came outside with Jonothan a few minutes later.

Nancy gave smiles and hugs to Will and El before turning to Mike, "Mom says you all should come inside and get ready for dinner."

Mike nodded, taking El's hand and leading everyone inside the house. While they were walking back, Nancy took a closer look at El and pointed at her lips.

"Jesus Christ Mike, what the hell were you doing? Eating her?

"Pretty much," Lucas responded. "It would have been pretty touching if it didn't go on for like two minutes."

"Hey!" Mike complained

They all laughed, and he turned to face El. She looked so happy, so happy to be back in Hawkins Indiana with him, nerdy Mike Wheeler. She was so beautiful in the twilight, and he asked himself for the 100th time what he ever did to deserve her. He still hadn't found an answer.

For the first time in a long time, he felt whole, he felt like life was finally back to normal. Holding this beautiful girls hand next to him was all he ever needed to feel happy, especially knowing he had four other best friends at his side.

It doesn't get better than this.

**That's Chapter 2 guys! Definitely the most challenging chapter I've ever written, as I had to go through three different perspectives. Let me know what you guys think of me doing that in the future. I personally like having an El section, a Mike section, and then a small Hopper section in the beginning of the story. I honestly felt really uncomfortable writing the sex ed section, so sorry if that parts not very good. I figured I'd give it a try, something better than nothing. Let me know if you guys have any concerns or inputs for the rest of the story, I love reading comments!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I want to start off by saying, yikes. My writing in the last chapter was lackluster to say the least. Overall I added all the content I wanted to in the Chapter, I just made some bad decisions in writing structure. I also jumped from one thought to another without explaining it much, but that's sort of just my writing style, similar to that of Rick Riordan(my idol and who I learn from). But back to the writing structure, I think at one point I used the word long in like 5 sentences in a row, which is just horrible for any writer to do. But I literally cranked on this story for about 5 hours straight, so it got worse as I went along, I'll make sure not to do that again. I also realise that last chapter was a little boring because I had to convey El's thoughts on last season, but from now on there's going to be a lot more dialogue and character interactions, I promise. I more or less haven't even started writing the actual story yet, and I have a lot planned, so get ready. I've also decided to try and fit a Mike and El perspective in every chapter, but if I feel like one or the other deserves to have the entire chapter, I'm going to make it that way. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy it! :)**

December 21st (Kamchatka Russia)

_Cold_. If he ever gets out of here, and someone asks Jim Hopper what it was like to be a Russian prisoner, he was just going to respond with one word; cold. Ever since Jim had arrived in his new prison camp, It had been nothing short of freezing. Sure, that had been expected. He heard stories as a soldier in Vietnam about how citizens in Russia were frozen to death on a nightly basis, especially in winter. But it didn't make reality any easier.

Jim Hopper also didn't realize how close Russian seasons blended together. He figured he had arrived at the new prison in August, and it was freezing then too. Soon summer turned to fall, fall turned to winter, and the temperature only went down. If Hopper was a betting man(which he was), he would guess that he and the other prisoners would freeze to death by the end of the winter.

He had managed to find a few other prisoners who spoke english. Even though it was ridiculously broken english, talking to them helped Hopper from going mentally of the inmates, nicknamed "Smiles" for his expressionless face, told Hopper it had never been this cold in Russia.

"Been here for 3 years," Smiles told him."It was always cold, but never like this. Some months used to have sun, but not this year."

"It's been like this all year?" Hopper asked.

Smiles nodded, "Never this cold"

From what Smiles had told him, He used to work in a textile factory that made shirts near St. Petersburg. One day he had cut his hand in one of the machines, and was unable to work to support his family. Desperate, he resorted to stealing food from a government run grocery store, and was caught red handed with a loaf of bread. Since then, he had been in Kamchatka desperate to return to his family, knowing they were probably dead anyway.

It really puts how lucky Hopper used to be in the states into perspective. Hopper was a highschool dropout, who cared about nothing more than getting high and hooking up with girls. Somehow he managed to get through police academy training, and got a job as a cop in New York of all places. He had managed to start a family, fuck it up, and start another family, all while having plently of opertunites to start something new. It was safe to say Smiles drew the short straw for being born where he was. But now they were stuck in the same place, even with all the opportunities Hopper had gotten

A normal day for Hopper and all the inmates was simple. They would wake up at the compound, get dressed in thick winter coats and hats(supplied by the guards), and take a train to the wilderness of Kamchatka. They were given improper tools (normally a pickaxe) and forced to help build a massive railroad track. Hopper wasn't sure what they were doing with this track, but he hoped it was important. He had spent half a year working on this damn thing, it better have some use.

When they returned from work at nightfall, he and each of the 50 or so inmates were given a piece of bread, a bottle of water, and a slab of meat. It didn't taste good to say the least, but Hopper scarfed it down in seconds. Beggars can't be choosers after all.

After they finished their meal, each were given an opportunity to shower, which was heavenly after being out in the cold all day. After they showered though, they were given an hour before the guards forced them into a cell, which gave them time to talk. Obviously, Hopper didn't have many people to talk to considering he didn't speak Russian, but people were interested in what he had to say. Normally Smiles translated conversations between him and the others, trying to make sense of what this place really was.

Today was an especially strange day, because after he was done showering, Smiles rushed him over to talk to another prisoner, whose name happened to be Victor.

"Victor said a strange man arrived today before dinner, big with a mark on his face." Smiles told him.

Immediately Jim thought of the man who interrogated him months ago about the Upside down, who somehow knew who Dustin Henderson was.

"Victor heard him talking about you, 'The American'. He said he had found 'The American' friends back home, and soon the work will be complete.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean" Hopper narrowed his eyes. His brain was moving quickly, trying to figure out what all that meant. Found his friends back home? That couldn't be good. If they knew about Dustin, it wouldn't take them long to find El, or any of the others for that matter.

That is if they were all still alive.

"Did he say anything else? Anything important!" Jim shouted.

Smiles took a step back, obviously taken back by his aggressive attitude. "He said he would be coming tomorrow. But thats all Victor could hear, they shut the door after that"

Hopper hit the wall next to him angrily. He hasn't felt this way, or any way, in such a long time. He had practically given up on ever getting out of here, but this conversation gave him new motivation, it lit a fire in his chest. He needed to find out what was happening back in Hawkins, and fast.

"Thanks man, sorry for being a dick," he told both of them.

Smiles looked at him with the same blank expression he always did, "These…. People back in America, are they like your family.

Hopper thought of the stupid kids back in Hawkins. Dustin with his nerdy nicknames for the monsters. Lucas, who thinks he can kill monsters with a rubber wrist rocket. Will and Jonathan, who were some of the quietest, yet some of the bravest people he has ever met. Nancy, who was always there with a shotgun when you needed her. Even that Harrington kid had some good qualities

He thought of Mike and El, their sickening romance that makes Hopper actually want to believe love exists. He thought of Joyce, how much he would give to actually go on a date with her, to find out if those feelings of love actually exist.

He turned towards Smiles giving him, well, a smile.

"You could say that"

* * *

December 21st(Hawkins, Indiana)

"Then Mike pocked the frog, and all bodily fluids squirted right into Stacy Thompsons face!" Dustin told the dinner table.

Mike couldn't help but to facepalm at his friend for having such terrible manners. But it really didn't matter to Mike. To him, this was the first actual family dinner he's had in his entire life. Pretty much everyone who he considered family was here, which was a step up from when he normally ate.

His Mom had moved the big dining room table they normally use for thanksgiving into the living room in order to accommodate all the guests. Everyone was sort of mixed in with each other, Nancy next to Joyce, Joyce next to Mom, Mom next to Lucas etc. This made for some weird conversations, like how Dustin was trying to tell Mike's dad about his high score on Galaga, or how his six year old sister Holly was asking Max if she played with barbie dolls. Still, Mike wouldn't trade this for the world.

After everyone had recovered from Dustin's gruesome story on how Mike squirted his lab partner with frog juice, Mike's mom tried talking to him and El on their side of the table.

"So El, Mike tells me you weren't really a fan of Star Wars when you showed him."

Mike sighed, his mom might be worse talking to teenage girls than he was.

El frowned at Mike, "Which one was 'Star Wars.'

"The one with the shiny robot. I have a model of the ship in my room, remember."

"The one with the green hairy dog?" she asked.

"Yoda? Yeah that's the one."

"No" El responded to his mom bluntly. "It was really dumb. Why was the metal man Luke's father? Then Luke was kissing his sister. Mike told me it's weird to kiss your sister like that."

"They didn't know they were related." Mike told her for the 100th time. "And are you seriously bashing on the biggest plot twist in cinematic history?"

"Mike, you're such a nerd." Nancy shouted at him from across the table.

"Yes" El agreed. "But Mike is a cool nerd."

She grabbed his hand from under the table, making him feel a little better about himself. Even if she didn't like Star Wars, he would never put it against her.

Mike's mom laughed, clearly starting to get the hang of El's sense of humor. When he first introduced El to his mom, she seemed to be a bit skeptical when she tried to talk to her. Mike obviously didn't exaggerate enough about how she spoke very basic english. But after having a few conversations with her, his mom seemed to be more comfortable talking to El.

"Mike doesn't show her any real movies." Max explains. "He shows her all this nerd crap instead of all the good stuff, Like 'Nightmare on Elms street', 'Halloween' , 'Friday the Thirteenth'.

"Those are horror movies," Mike pointed out.

"So? You're telling me you've never seen 'Halloween' Wheeler?

"I mean-" He glanced at his mom, who was narrowing her eyes at him "-No I haven't Max. Even if I did, I don't really think El would want to see that."

"Why not" El frowned at him.

"It's kinda scary?"

"So, she's not a baby Mike" Max said

"Yeah, I'm not a baby," El confirmed.

Mike groaned. He hated when they did this. Max never takes into account how socially underdeveloped El is. Showing her a movie like that could scar her for months. Plus, he wasn't a huge fan of those movies himself. They were good, sure. But considering all the scary stuff Mike's seen in his life, he doesn't really need to see any more.

But now that Max challenged Mike, El was going to think he was trying to control her, which really wasn't the case at all. She was going to keep asking him to see it, and when he said no, she was going to get really mad. He really didn't want them to be fighting for the few weeks thay had together.

"I don't think you kids should be watching that," Mike's mom told them. "That stuff isn't meant for kids your age."

"I agree" said Mrs Byers

Mike smiled sheepishly at El, but she dropped his hand and glared at him almost immediately. Looks like they were going to need to talk later.

After dinner, Mike's dad went upstairs to get ready for bed early. After he was gone, Mike's mom started discussing everything that had happened the last two years with Joyce, Nancy, and Jonathan.

Mike and the rest of the Party retreated downstairs to the basement, catching up Will and El on everything they've missed in the last month or so. While Dustin was telling everyone the story of how he beat Max's record at the arcade for Galaga, Mike reached for El's hand.

Not to his surprise, she wouldn't hold his hand.

He gestured to the back door, silently asking her if she wanted to talk alone. She nodded.

"Hey guys, me and El are going for a walk for like 5 minutes, we'll be back soon I promise," Mike told them.

"Seriously Mike," Dustin rolled his eyes. Lucas seemed to get the hint though, clearing his throat.

"That's a good idea, I need to use the bathroom anyway, when we all get back we can pick out a movie to watch, yeah?

Everyone seemed to be in agreement, and Mike pulled El through the basement door, stepping into the nice cool air.

"What?" she asked him with a bit of attitude.

"What's up with you? Everything was going fine before Max said that Halloween thing at the table," Mike told her softly.

"Don't treat me like a pet, I can make my own decisions," She told him firmly.

Mike wanted to slap himself in the face, he thought they were done with this bullshit.

"El you know I don't treat you like a pet, but I care about you. I know you can make your own decisions, better than I can. But I've seen movies like that before, and they've scared the living shit out of me. I don't want you to go through the same thing."

She grabbed his hand, and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Mike, I love you, but you are not Hop," she told him honestly. "It's nice how much you care, but I need to learn my own way. I want to be a regular person."

"And I respect that," He told her, practically tasting the freedom. "I hate fighting with you, but just know that sometimes when I come off as sort of a prick, it just means I care about you, Okay?"

"Okay," she said, giving him a soft smile.

"So we're cool?" he asked.

"We're cool" she said, wrapping him in a hug.

Mike was glad. Major crisis averted. If El wanted to see Halloween, she could see Halloween, but he was definitely going to be there for her. If she ran out of the room crying though, Max was going to get a piece of his mind.

When Mike and El came back inside, the others were positioned in front of the basement TV. It was Mike's 14th birthday present, and he could not have been more glad when he got this. It made watching movies with the whole party a lot more private and fun.

"So what movie do you guys want to watch," Dustin asked the group when everyone was situated.

"Will or El, one of you guys gets to pick. You're the guests, _technically_," Mike told them.

Will shrugged, "I don't really care.

Mike studied Will. Since he and El had arrived at Mike's house, Mike hadn't been paying him too much attention, which he realized was a mistake. Something was obviously wrong with him. He seemed even more quiet than normal, which given his history of getting abducted/possessed by interdimensional monsters, worried Mike.

He'd do his best to ignore it for now, but Mike knew eventually he was going to confront Will about it.

For now though, Mike turned to El, knowing damn well what movie she was going to pick to watch.

"Halloween," El told him excitedly.

"Great," Mike grumbled. "I don't even know if we have a copy of that."

"I took my parents old copy before I left my house," Max told him. "I figured we were going to want to watch something scary tonight."

"Gee, nothing gets me in the Christmas spirit more than Micheal Myers stabbing people with kitchen knives," Lucas said sarcastically.

"Stop being such a pussy, stalker," Max told him. "If Halloween still scares you after what happened in July, I don't know what to tell you. Plus there's only so much "Rudolph" and "Frosty the Snowman" I can handle."

Everyone pretty much expected that Halloween was going to be the movie they were watching, so Mike went over to the VCR and put the tape in. He chose a spot on the couch right next to El, just in case she got scared.

Maybe Max was right. El has had so many traumatic experiences in her life, maybe this movie wouldn't be scary at all for her.

Boy, was he wrong.

Pretty much the entire party had already seen this movie, so most of them weren't really affected by all the jumpscares and gruesome deaths. But obviously El had never seen it before, so it was all new to her. She started off asking questions, which Mike was used to whenever they watched movies. She didn't understand a lot of references in movies, so Mike was happy to explain.

But soon she stopped asking questions, and her eyes became practically glued to the screen. When the scary parts started to come up, she didn't scream or do anything that made her seem visibly upset, but Mike could feel her shaking next to him. About halfway through the movie, she grabbed his hand and held it so tight, Mike thought his fingers were going to turn purple.

Mike was about to ask her if she was ok. But before he had the chance to, everything in his house turned off at once. Tv, lights and all.

El reached over and held onto him tight, she was shaking in his arms.

"It's ok El," he told her. "It's just a power outage."

"A what?" she asked him in a trembling voice.

"It's when the power gets cut off from your house," Dustin explained. "So your lights, Tv, and everything else connected to the house electricity doesn't work. I'm sure it'll come back in a few minutes."

"Mike!" his mom yelled to him from the stairs. "Are you kids ok down there."

"Yes mom," he rolled his eyes.

Soon the party was joined by Joyce, Nancy, and Jonathan, along with Mike's mom.

"I should maybe bring the kids back to the hotel with me now, get rested up so you guys can all hang out tomorrow," Joyce told them.

"What if Will and El just stay over here for the night?" Mike asked. "Maybe the hotel doesn't have power either."

"Yeah!" Dustin said enthusiastically. "Group sleepover Mrs. Byers! That way we waste no time, maximum friendship.

"I don't know how I would feel about the girls sleeping over," Mike's mom told them honestly.

"We would all be down here together," Mike rolled his eyes. "Nothings gonna happen."

"Yeah don't worry Mrs. Wheeler, I'll sleep right in between Mike and El, that way nothing weird can happen without me being involved," Dustin jokes.

"What Dustin's trying to say," Lucas said glaring at him. "Is that we're responsible kids and nothing stupid will happen.

Joyce shrugged, although she was glaring at Mike, who had slowly moved away from El ever since the parents came down. "I don't really care, I just don't feel comfortable being away from you kids with the power outage."

"You can Mike's room," Mike's mom offered. "I'm _trusting _Nancy and Jonathon in her bedroom, and the rest of the kids can sleep down here."

Everyone seemed satisfied with that plan. Soon the adults left and the kids were left sitting there in the dark, setting up sleeping stations for everyone.

"Anyone else think it's a little weird how there's a power outage in the middle of winter, with no snow?" Dustin said, breaking the silence.

"Everything can be weird if you think about it hard enough," Lucas pointed out. "I mean Will, did you feel anything when the power went out?"

Will shook his head, "Nothing, and the last time we had a power outage I felt it. So it's pretty unlikely this has something to do with the… you know."

They all understood what he meant by that. Eventually, Mike got tired of trying to set everyone up with sleeping spots, and everyone just decided to claim different spots in the basement. Dustin and El each claimed a couch, Max got the recliner, and Lucas, Will, and Mike all had sleeping bags on the floor.

Mike tried to fall asleep, but it was hard. For one, the floor was super uncomfortable. But besides that, he couldn't help but to feel a little weird about the power outage. Mike had never really told his friends, but he had been a little wary of something weird happening since the weather had gotten warmer.. Now there was this freak power outage that seemed to be caused by nothing, as soon as Will and El returned to Hawkins? It all seemed a little too coincidental to him.

Still, Mike tried to ignore his suspicions. El and Will were here now, he was supposed to be having fun with his friends, not theory crafting about interdimensional monsters.

He slumped down in his sleeping bag, which was way too small for him, and tried to drift into peaceful sleep.

* * *

El was scared to say the least. First, she had probably just watched the scariest movie she had ever seen. Max said that the movie was good, but watching some psychotic man stab people with a knife was not El's idea of good. Far from it in fact. Secondly, the power outage freaked her out. She knew that the last time the Mind Flayer attacked, the entire town of Hawkins had turned off for a minute, and she didn't like the idea of facing him again, especially with no powers.

Now, even sleeping on Mike's couch in his basement wasn't even comforting to her. A week ago, she would have given anything to be sleeping in Mike's basement for the night, to be this close to Mike and her friends. But now, even that thought wasn't comforting enough.

After twisting and turning a few more times on the couch, she gave up on trying to sleep for the time being. She needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't judge her for being scared.

Her eyes drifted over to Mike's sleeping form, unsure on whether or not to wake him up. But before she could change his mind, she stood up and gently shook Mike awake. "Mike," she whispered gently in his ear.

Mike's eyes slowly started to open, and once he saw her, a look of concern spread across his face.

"El," he said, keeping his voice low. "What's wrong?"

"Scared," she told him honestly.

He looked at her worriedly, and slowly led her to the other side of the basement, where the old blanket fort was located.

She quickly got in the fort, gesturing for Mike to join her. He hesitated for a second, but slowly moved to join her inside of the fort. It was just big enough for both of them, and much more comfortable, than the couch.

"What's wrong?" he finally asked her.

She shook her head, "You were right, I should not have watched that movie. I wasn't ready to watch it."

"El," he sighed. "I didn't think that you weren't ready to watch it. Well technically, none of us are ready to watch it since we're too young, but I just didn't want you to do something just because Max was pressuring you."

"She does that a lot," El admitted. "I just don't want to feel weird. She's the only girl I'm friends with, and I don't want to be different from her."

It was true. Max just seemed so much cooler than El ever could be. She was the only girl El was friends with, and Max just seemed so different than her.

"El, nobody's the same person," Mike told her. "Let me tell you, most girls don't watch horror movies for fun or skateboard or play video games. Max is just as different, trust me."

"I know," she sighed. "It's just that… Max always seems like… she's in charge. I want to feel like I can be in charge,"

"Confidence," Mike told her. "You wish you had more confidence."

"What is that," she asked him, confused.

"It's how comfortable you feel in your own body, how comfortable you are making your own decisions." he began to explain to her.  
"I don't understand," she told him honestly.

"It's like how... " Mike's face furrowed in frustration. "How you told me that one time how you loved me. You had confidence that I felt the same way. You were sure of yourself.

"Ohhhh," El said. "So like when you called me on the radio all those days, you had confidence I was there."

"Exactly," Mike said smiling. "Max has a lot of confidence because, well, I'm not sure why. But she has a lot of it."

She laughed and cuddled up closer next to him. Talking to him made her feel less scared, more protected.

"I wish I had more confidence," Mike admitted. "Everyone seems so sure of themselves all the time, and I'm always just standing there like a dolt."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Mike hesitated, "Like… when Hopper told me to not hang out with you last summer. I was scared, scared of him and scared of you. I wanted to tell you what happened, but I just couldn't. I wasn't sure of myself.

El frowned at him. Confidence did seem to be something Mike lacked. She never knew the word for it until now. Even around her, he was always scared, as if he was going to mess something up.

"Mike," she told him. "Telling the truth is always better than lying, never forget that."

"Yeah, I know that now. It's just hard sometimes, you know?"

"I know," She assured him.

They both laid next to each other in comfortable silence for the next few minutes. Finally, Mike spoke up. "I think I should get back, I don't want my Mom to find us like this in the morning.

"Stay," she told him. "Remember Mike, confidence."

He sighed, "Your going to be the death of me, you know that right?

El laughed, and started to get more comfortable next to him. Soon they were both fast asleep.

Only when El fell asleep, she wasn't asleep, she was in the Void.

El was confused to say the least. She hadn't been able to access the Void since she had lost her powers in July. She had also never accessed them in her sleep, so this was all new for her.

She started walking in the darkness, hearing her feet hit the wet ground with a splash every step she took. El wondered what she was supposed to be seeing, if she was supposed to see anything at all.

Soon, she was able to make out a faint figure in the darkness. As she got closer, she saw that it was a man. He was tall, a little taller than Mike, but a lot more muscular. He had a scar running down the right side of his face, and he was talking to a man whose back was turned. They were speaking some language El had never heard, but somehow she understood what they were saying.

"I hope that your plan was a success, Drago." The scar man said.

"I can assure you it was, General." The man turned around, and even though he was a lot less threatening than the first man, it didn't make El any less scared.

"The people back in that town have no idea, they just think it's some minor electrical error," The man continued. "Soon, our plan will be complete, and the subjects will be ours,"

"Good," The scar man said emotionlessly. "We wouldn't want people to start getting ideas, would we?"

Drago ignored the question, "My men have successfully broken contact. Soon, the work on theDoorway will be completed. Once the Doorway has been opened, we will be able to execute plan B, and find the subjects."

The General nodded, "Good, you have done well Drago, you are free to go."

Drago was hesitant to leave, and decided to ask the General one more question. "What shall we do with the American? He might be of use to us if we want to pinpoint the locations of the subjects."

"The American has proved to be useless in terms of giving information," The General paused. "However, if you think he can be of use to you, we shall bring him in for questioning."

Suddenly , the two men El had been watching evaporated into the air, and she saw a different man standing in front of her.

He was thinner, and his beard was shaggier than El remembered. He also had no hair on top of his head, but El had no doubt who the man was standing in front of her. The same man who had taken her to shelter when she was lost in the woods. The same man who had given her a place to stay, and one of the first people to treat her like a real human being; Hopper.

Hopper seemed to be working on something, smacking some sort of tool into the ground repeatedly.

"Hopper!" El screamed. "Hopper!"

El ran to him, desperate to get his attention. But as soon as she got close, he too evaporated into thin air. El cried, cried harder than she had in a long time.

Soon, her body appeared back in the real world. That didn't stop her from screaming.

Mike soon appeared over her, "El! El are you ok? What's wrong?"

"Hopper" El gasped, "Hopper is alive!

**Well that's chapter 3. Sorry to leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger. This was a bit of a shorter chapter, but it's more of a setup for the next chapter. Unfortunately this may be the last chapter for a week or two. I'm going on spring break and won't be back until March 20th. I might be able to get another chapter out if I grind hard enough, but I can't promise anything. Thank you all for reading and don't forget to comment if you have any questions or concerns.**


	4. Chapter 4

**an I just love uploading a chapter and noticing all the grammar mistakes after I post it, don't you guys? In all seriousness, I want to apologize for the spelling and grammar mistakes in the last chapter. There weren't many, but still more than I would have liked. I'm definitely getting better though. I just get so excited to post the chapter I don't spend as much time proofreading as I'd like to. On another note, we cancelled our vacation because of Coronavirus. It's bitter sweet, but kind of cool considering I have a lot of extra time to write. Online schools are a complete joke, so I'm not too concerned with getting all my work done. Hope you guys enjoy it!**

December 22st (Kamchatka Russia)

Hopper had been trying to think of a plan to get him a conversation with the Russian General all day. He had come up with a few good ones. Unfortunately though, most of them involved a ton of risk and would result in the cost of his own life, so he had to rule most of them out.

The thing was though, he didn't even have to come up with a plan. As soon as he got back from working on the train tracks, he found a tall russian man in a business suit waiting for him in his cell.

"The General has requested an audience," The man told him.

Hopper was surprised to say the least. He had no idea what the Russians could want with him at this point. He assumed that they knew more about the Upside Down than he did, considering what they had tried to do in Hawkins. Hopper figured he would be fighting tooth and nail to try and talk to the guy. He wanted to know what they wanted with his "friends" back in Hawkins, and was willing to do anything to get that information.

Hopper followed the man toward an empty corridor with a single room at the very end of a hallway. The prisoners around here called it the "judgement room", because that's where all the high ranking officers do their bidding.

Once he entered the room, Hopper's eyes fell immediately on a big man with a scar running down his face, the one he had come to know as the General. He was sitting at a desk with the head of the Kamchatka prison, a man Hopper had heard being referred to as Drago.

Hopper had never minded Drago before. He was fair and never really made life harder on the prisoners than it needed to be. But if you ever crossed him, or did something to make him angry, he would not hesitate to put a bullet through your chest. Hopper had seen it more times than he would have liked.

Hopper took the seat right in front of the two men and offered a weak greeting. Shockingly, they did not return the favor.

The General told the man in the business suit who came in with Hopper something in Russian, and the man translated it back to him.

"He would like to know how the prison is treating you so far."

"_It's treating me like shit_," he thought. But instead he nodded.

"Good enough, I mean it is prison after all,"

The man translated back and the General nodded, even cracking a hollow smile. He began asking Hopper more questions, most of them were just comments about America the General expected him to respond too. After a while, Hopper started to get impatient.

"Ask him why the hell I'm in here please," he told the translator.

He didn't really care what the outcome of this would be. He wasn't going to listen to this communist bash on his country.

The General's expression didn't change when he heard what Hopper said, but immediately he began to talk to Drago, and the next thing he had translated to him was much different.

"They would like to know if you have any idea where the Byers family may be located, as they are missing from the town of Hawkins, along with the girl,"

_The girl? _Hopper didn't have any idea where the Russians could have gotten this information. He feared the Russians had captured the rest of the group, although he found that unlikely. It would be hard for them to get away with abduction in such a small town. Although, knowing that Joyce and her family were safe, along with this girl Hopper was pretty sure he knew, made him sigh of relief.

"What girl?" He asked the translator.

Hopper got a response to that pretty quick, and it was the response he was both hoping and dreading

"Martin Brenner's test subject, the little girl called Eleven, or "Jane Hopper", your daughter.

Hopper took a deep breath. He had a few ideas to where they could be, but there was no chance he was giving this guy any information. He figured they were hiding at Murray Bauman's in Illinois, but for all he knew they could be anywhere. The fact that this guy knew so much about the group back in Hawkins really scared him. If they know what El is truly capable of, or the type of things she's done, she could be in real danger.

"I haven't seen them in months," he told them honestly. "They could be anywhere in the country by now, last time I saw them they were all living in Hawkins."

When his words got translated over, he could tell the General wasn't happy. He called two guards in, each carrying an old school police baton.

He'd seen enough crime shows to know what was going to happen next. They were going to ask him questions he didn't want to answer, and when he refused to answer, these guards were going to beat the shit out of him.

"Is it true that Eleven was responsible for opening the first doorway?" the translator asked him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Hopper told him.

The guards both took their batons and smacked him in the ribcage, causing an eruption of pain in his chest.

"The stories of her telekinetic powers, are they true?

Hopper grunted, "She's just a kid, a sweet little kid. And if you scumbags choose to lay even a finger-

The General yelled something in Russian, and the guards started to repeatedly hit Hopper with the batons. He knew that eventually, he was going to black out from the pain. He was ok with that, they could kill him and he could care less at this point. He would never tell these communists anything about Hawkins, especially about El.

The last thing Hopper thought as he began to lose consciousness was El, and how much danger she was in.

"_Wherever you are kid, stay safe_." He thought. "_Don't let these bastards win_,"

Then, everything went black

* * *

December 22st (Hawkins, Indiana)

"Alright so one more time," Dustin said. "What the fuck happened?"

It had been hours since it happened, but El could still remember most of the details from her nightmare/void trip. She had woken up screaming, scaring the others in the process. Thankfully, no one upstairs heard. Mike told her a long time ago that the basement walls were basically sound proof, so there's no way his parents could hear much of anything from down here.

"Dustin, she already explained it like five times," Mike said annoyed. "I think we get the general idea."

"I'm just trying to wrap my head around this," Dustin said, pacing the room. "You somehow got back into the void, saw russian soldiers discussing military plans, and then Hopper? Who happened to be building a railroad track in the middle of Russia? This just doesn't make any sense to me, none of it."

"I didn't say it made sense to me either!" she shouted. "But it happened."

"No one's saying it didn't happen El," Max said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We just don't really understand who these men are, or why Hopper is appearing somewhere else when he's presumed dead."

"Or how you even got into the void in the first place," Lucas said. "I thought your powers were gone?"

"They are," she said miserably. After her nightmare, El tried hard to use her powers for the first time in months. But they still weren't working. She felt the familiar buzz in her ears, and she felt her body shaking from the effort it took to summon that kind of strength, but they just were not working.

"Well then how were you in the void?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know," she said miserably. She felt tears forming in her eyes. She tried to give them as much information as she could, but she already felt the conversations fleeing from her mind. As well as the image of Hopper in a winter coat, head shaved bald. Now she had nothing to offer them, and El felt like everyone thought she was going crazy.

"Hey El, it's ok," Mike said, wrapping her up in a hug. "No one's being mean on purpose, you don't have to talk about your dreams anymore if you don't want to. But we should discuss the stuff we saw in them. We have to consider the fact that Hopper might actually be alive."

"Hey, I want him back as much as the next guy," Dustin said defensively. "And I'm sorry if I came off as a douche El, but we have to take this stuff seriously. Because if it's not us, then who else?"

"Mike's right though," Max pointed out. "El's never let us down, we can't just act like she had some type of traumatic nightmare or something, this could be real shit. Shit that if we don't deal with it, nobody is."

"Ok, timeout a second Max," Lucas said. "Let's say Hopper is somehow alive in Russia, working as a prisoner. Let's say these Russians are planning some type of invasion, what do you expect us to do about it? Believe it or not, we're just a bunch of kids. Saving Hawkins from a monster is one thing, but you expect that we can actually do something about an entire Russian army? Do you want to go to Russia and help break Hopper out? It's just unrealistic."

Lucas was right, it was unrealistic. But El felt like she was given those visions for a reason, almost like her sub-consciousness was reaching out and trying to tell her something important.

"I mean we could tell someone," Max said. "That the Russians are up to some fishy stuff, they're keeping an American prisoner on lockdown."

"Yeah Max, _great_ idea," Dustin said sarcastically. "Who won't believe us when we tell them we got this information from a 14 year old girl with telekinetic superpowers."

"Well, do you want to just sit here and do nothing about it?" she snapped back. "I feel like we need to do something! Especially after what happened last summer, those bastards need to pay.

El recognised the fire light in Max's eyes when she talked about last summer. She recognised it because she saw the light in her eyes every day in the mirror. They both wanted revenge, vengeance for the loss of their loved ones. Now that there was a possibility Hopper was still alive, El wanted revenge even more. It didn't seem fair to put her through all that suffering for no reason.

"I agree with both of you," Mike said, trying to defuse the situation. "I think we should do something, but not yet. We don't have enough evidence or information to take action. Even if we assume El is right, which I think we should, we still don't even know what we're fighting, or how to fight it. We think the Russian's were messing with our power, but we don't know how or why. We think Hopper's alive, but we don't know where, or how to save him. I say we just wait this out a few days, enjoy Christmas, and if anything else weird happens, we take action.

El beamed at Mike. He may not have superpowers, not like she used to, but that mouth of his is basically a superpower of its own. Mike had the ability to defuse any situation, piss anyone off, or make anyone laugh just by talking. It's a gift.

"I agree with Mike," Will said, startling everyone. She had forgotten he was even in the room at this point. "We need to approach this with caution. We learned our lesson last summer, about how some things are just too big for us to handle."

"Exactly," Lucas said. "If something happens where we need to take action, we'll take action. For now we need to just think on it, and have some fun. It's not everyday we all just get to hang out together. Let's try not to think about monsters for a while. In fact, me and Dustin have orchestrated quite the plan in a few days if you guys are down."

"Oh yeah!" Dustin said. "Will and El, the rest of us were talking a few days ago, and we thought it would be pretty sweet if we did a group camping trip up by the quarry. Just the six of us. Steve told me he and his friends used to do it all the time, and it was a lot of fun."

"Sure," El said with no hesitation.

"I mean yeah," Will said. "But do you really think our parents are going to let us do that?"

"Yeah, we're still figuring that part out," Lucas admitted.

"Here's the curveball though," Dustin said. "We were thinking it might be cool if I asked Steve to get some alcohol for us, so we can all drink for the first time together. It might be fun, crossing another thing off the bucket list."

"Are you crazy," Will said. "That just seems like a bad idea to me."

"That's what I said," Mike grumbled.

El didn't really understand. She knew about alcohol, how adults can drink it and it's supposed to be fun. But she also knew teenagers did it sometimes, although it was apparently illegal. She didn't understand why adults could but they couldn't.

"Look," Lucas said. "If we're right about this, and something is going to go down in Hawkins within the next year, forcing us back into saving the world mode, don't you think we should have a little fun? I know it's dark thinking, but what if we can't survive this bullshit much longer? I want some good memories if we're going to go down fighting."

The whole group went silent, until eventually Will spoke up."I'm in." he said

"Alright Byers!" Dustin said. "El?"

El looked over at Mike, who gave her a slight nod.

"I guess," she said. "Good memories, right?"

"Hell yeah good memories, this is gonna be great! We gotta stop by the video store later to convince Steve."

As they started plotting out their adventure, El heard Mike's mom call them all up for breakfast. As they were going up the stairs, Mike stopped her "Are you ok El?"

El gave him a slight nod. In truth, she wasn't really sure what to feel. Her thoughts kept drifting back to that conversation between the Russians. She could barely remember what they talked about, but she was sure it concerned them, specifically their town. She also wanted to figure out a way to save Hopper. But she also knew that Mike was right, and they needed to wait. They had nothing to go off of right now, and they were just physicing themselves out for no reason.

"Look," Mike told her. "Just know that whatever happens, I'll always be on your side. I believe you, and once we figure out what all this means, we're going to get him back."

It warmed her heart knowing that he felt this way, and it surprised her even more how forward he was.

"I like the confidence," El told him.

"Thank you," he laughed.

She grabbed his hand and started up the stairs, ready to start their day.

* * *

As the Party entered the kitchen, They found a feast waiting for them at the table. Pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon- pretty much anything you could ask for. El was thankful to be back in Hawkins for many reasons, but Karen Wheeler's cooking was near the top of the list. El loved Joyce, but her cooking wasn't what you would call proficient. El also noticed that the power was back on in the Wheeler house, and she felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

The group sat down at the table, along with Karen, Holly, Joyce and Mr. Wheeler, and tried to enjoy their breakfast. El couldn't help but to notice the absence of Nancy and Jonathan. It was already close to 10 and they still hadn't made an appearance.

Right on queue, Jonathan and Nancy came down stairs, still dressed in sleepwear. By the looks of their messy hair and baggy eyes, it didn't look like they got much sleep the night before. Whether that was because of the power outage or personal reasons, El wasn't sure.

"Ah, nice of you to join us Nancy," Ted Wheeler said, sipping his coffee. "I hope you slept well, your mother had been slaving over the stove for a good hour getting food ready for our guests. It would have been nice if you helped her."

Nancy gave him a small smile, "I would have been happy to if someone woke me up. Since no one did, I assumed it was all taken care of."

"It was," Karen said. "Your fine Nancy,"

"Plus," Mike added. "We would have to draw straws to see who got stuck with that torturous job."

"Gee El," Nancy pointed at her. "Your lips are _really_ puffy. I wonder why that is?"

"Guys," Karen said angrily. "We have guests."

They both stopped, but continued to glare daggers at each other. El had noticed arguments going on between Nancy and Mike from the very first time she met Nancy. The arguments weren't very intense, just bashful and playful. Still, it seemed silly for them to be fighting as much as they did. They both cared a lot about one another, they just could never resist taking a jab at each other.

"So what are your plans for today kids," Joyce asked, trying to change the subject.

"Were going to go to the arcade," Will said. "Probably going to visit Steve at the video store."

Joyce nodded, pleased with the answer. El didn't dare share the extra details involving their visit. Something told her Joyce wouldn't be on board with the whole quarry idea.

After breakfast, the six kids hopped onto the three bikes they had. El riding with Mike, Max riding with Lucas, and Will riding with Dustin. As they rode into town, El caught sight of a repair truck near an electrical box. The name _Hawkins Repair _was printed on the side of the truck.

"To fix the power problem," Mike told her, reading her mind. "Don't worry about them, they've been in this town since I was born. They're not government agents."

"Good," El said.

About ten minutes later, the kids were right outside of _Family Video_. El had never been inside of Family Video before, she only heard about it from Mike and the others. So when she entered the store and saw the wide variety of movies, she was at a loss for words. Basically every movie El had ever seen was there. From _Animal House _to _Karate Kid_.

Steve was at the cash register, not even reacting when they all entered the video store. He was too busy scribbling something down on a piece of paper.

"Welcome to Family Video," he said without looking up.

Dustin cleared his throat, which caused Steve to look at him, sporting a massive grin.

"Henderson!" Steve shouted. "It's been too long, man!" He turned to look at the rest of them. "I see you brought the other shitheads with you this time. Will and El, good to see you guys.

"Missed you Steve." Will said. El gave him a wave and a small smile.

"So, what brings you guys here. If it's about that adult film Henderson I already told you-"

"NO!" Dustin said, pretty flustered. Mike and the rest of the boys snickered at the comment, Max just rolled her eyes. "We actually wanted your opinion on something."

"My opinion on something? Looks like you're starting to learn.

"Learn what?" Max asked. "How to strike out with every girl in Hawkins?"

Steve glared at her, "I'll have you know, I only started struggling recently in the female department. My body counts higher than Greg Fredricks at a Led Zeppelin concert."

"Ok, we did not need to know that." Mike said.

"What's a body count," El asked Mike

Mike cringed, uncomforbale from the question. "I'll tell you later," he said.

"Anyway," Lucas said. "Dustin was telling us about how you and your friends used to camp out by the quarry, party and stuff.

"Oh yeah," Steve said. "Me and the guys used to have a _blast _down by the old quarry. Why, you guys are thinking about camping out down there?"

"Yeah," Dustin said. "We thought it would be fun considering how warm it is out there, and might not get a chance to do it again if winter hits us late."

"Fair enough." Steve shrugged. "So, what are you guys asking me. You need a ride or something?"

"No, well maybe, but that's not what we're asking you right now," Dustin took a deep breath. "So you know how when you used to tell me those stories, you would constantly point out the fact that you were highly intoxicated?"

"Yeah?" Steve said, not understanding the question. "It's not a good quarry party without some drinks, why are you….. Oh." He finally understood what Dustin was trying to ask him.

Steve went quiet for a long time, pondering on the information Dustin had just told him. He licked his lips so much El thought they were going to prune. After a long period of silence, he finally spoke.

"So essentially your asking me-

"If you can get us some alcohol, yeah," Mike cut in.

Steve put a hand on his face, "I don't really know if that's a good idea. You guys are still kids, that stuff can fuck with your brain."

"Were the same age as you when you started to drink," Lucas pointed out. "Actually, we're probably older."

"Yeah, we get it, Steve was an alcoholic. That's because my parents didn't give a shit about me. You guys have parents who care about you. You don't need to make the same kind of mistakes as I did in highschool."

"It's not a mistake unless you do something stupid," El pointed out, using one of Hopper's old sayings.

"No shit, is that right." Steve said sarcastically.

"Look Steve," Lucas started. "I'm not trying to be rude here, but were a little bit smarter than you were at our age. We know how to handle ourselves in bad situations. We wouldn't over drink ourselves, we would be careful."

Steve bursted out laughing, "Sinclair, the point of getting drunk is to be stupid and make mistakes, that's why it's _fun._ Look, I'll tell you what, how about we do a test run."

"A test run?" Will asked.

"Yeah, like you guys drink before you go to the quarry, that way you know your limits and won't do anything that can get me in trouble."

El could sense the progress they were making. They were slowly starting to break through to him.

"How would we do this, _test run_?" Mike asked.

"Well," Steve said. "My parents are out of town this weekend for some business trip. We have a ton of liquor at my house, which I assume you already know. How about you guys come over to my house, either tonight or sometime before you go to the quarry, and we test your limits. If I decide you can handle yourselves, I'll sport you guys with everything you need, _and _I'll give you a ride down to the quarry."

That seemed like a good plan to El. If she wasn't mistaken, he had just agreed to do what they asked and even more. The whole group nodded in agreement.

"We'll do it tonight," Dustin said.

"Good," Steve said. "Only thing is, you shitheads are going to need to find a way to sleepover. I'm not letting six drunk fourteen year olds bike home to their parents, telling them they were just at Steve Harringtons."

"We'll find a way," Will said.

El knew it wouldn't be an easy task to outsmart Joyce Byers. They could never get away with lying to her, so they were going to need to get some help this time. Mike seemed to have a similar concern based on the look he was giving her.

"Alright then, party at Steve's." Dustin laughed.

"Yeah well, I'm bringing Robin with me tonight. I'm going to need some backup." Steve told them.

"Good," Max said. " Maybe she'll actually know what she's talking about."

"Mayfield, do we have a problem?"

"Naw," she responded. "You're just really easy to make fun of. It amuses me."

After they said their goodbyes to Steve, the group looped around to the newly renovated Benny's dinner. Even riding past it used to give El the chills. She still felt responsible for Benny's death. Though Mike reasoned with her that the best way to honor him was eating at his old restaurant. Considering how good the food was at Benny's, El didn't have a problem agreeing with him.

They just ate breakfast, so the whole group opted to just get milkshakes. Well, everyone besides Mike, who was still hungry after his massive breakfast. He ordered a large fry. After everyone got their food, Dustin opened up the discussion.

"So, does anyone have an idea where we can tell our parents were staying tonight? I don't know about you guys, but Claudia isn't going to be too hot on the idea."

"I mean why can't we just say we're staying with Steve," Lucas asked. "Is it really that weird for us to be hanging out with him?"

"Yes," they all responded."

"Nancy would be super suspicious. Not that she would care, but she would definitely make my life miserable over it." Mike told them. "We also can't say we're staying at my house and then sneak out. My mom's going to be weird about all this for a little while, especially since she just found out about El."

El wished she could contribute to the conversation, but she honestly had no idea where to begin. Plus, her friends were good at lying and being sneaky, she wasn't.

"We're just going to need to say we're staying at each other's houses," Will suggested. "Like, I'll stay over at Dustin's, Dustin will stay over at my hotel. Mike will stay at Lucas's, Lucas will stay at Mike's. It's not full proof but it's the best we got."

"I guess," Mike sighed, not looking happy about the plan. "But if they find out-"

"They won't," Will said. "Worst comes to worst we'll just tell them we went to Steve's, get grounded for a bit, and then be fine. It's not like they're going to find out about the drinking."

"I guess," Dustin grumbled.

"So it's settled then?" Mike asked. "We'll all get to Steve's around seven lets say?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and El felt herself getting anxious. She's never done anything bad like this before. Maybe that was a good thing, but she's always had a rebellious streak. Whenever she did things she wasn't supposed to, it gave her a nice adrenaline boost. Like when she used to sneak out of the cabin, or when she snuck Mike into the cabin.

One thing was for sure, She was finally going to feel like a normal teenage girl tonight. She was going to be a teenager, doing normal teenage things like drinking and hanging out with friends. Even though she was still a little scared about the whole Hopper situation, and her return to the void, she figured she could put that all on hold to have fun for a night.

She looked across the table and saw Mike smiling. A real, genuine Mike Wheeler smile, and it felt good to see him happy. Even though they could be putting their time together in jeopardy, it was worth it to see him happy.

**That's chapter 4 guys. I really considered putting the party at Steve's in this chapter, but I have so much to say about that because there's going to be a lot going on. So sorry if this chapter seems like kind of a filler. It sort of is, but things need to be brushed on if I want to make the next chapter a good one, so get ready for that. Expect it within the next week, I'm not trying to write a ridiculous amount because my writings are going to tank, and this next chapter is going to be hard to write. Thank you for reading my story, and be sure to comment down if you have any feedback/concerns. I love reading comments.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello guys. Not much to go off of here in terms of an author update, but I hope all of you are inside staying safe from the coronavirus. It's not that deadly but it's causing mass hysteria, so I hope all of you are staying safe and keeping calm. Unfortunately, season 4 is going to be delayed because of this. Hopefully this just gives the Duffers more time to create an even better story. **

December 22st (Kamchatka Russia)

When Hopper woke up strapped to a chair with a dozen scientists surrounding him, he knew he was in deep shit. His vision was blurred, and his mouth tasted like it had been stuffed with a paper towel. His head hurt worse than any hangover he had ever experienced and his bottom chest area felt like it had gotten hit repeatedly with a bat.

The Russians had rendered him unconscious when he refused to answer their questions the first time. Hopper remembered they were specifically asking him about El, and her powers. When he refused to answer the questions, they beat him until he blacked out. Those bastards might as well just kill him, because he wasn't going to give them any information.

Just as Hopper was starting to get more aware of his surroundings, the General entered the room, followed closely by two guards. Hopper took notice that there was no translator this time, meaning the General didn't intend to talk to him much. When he made eye contact with Hopper, he smiled. "Enjoy your nap, American?"

Hopper grunted,"You could say that," he spit on the ground next to him."When did you start speaking english. You just pick that up or what?"

The man gave Hopper a glare that made him wish he kept his mouth shut, "I'm proficient in several languages, Jim Hopper. I just didn't find it necessary to speak directly to you until now."

Hopper ignored the fact that the General knew his full name, "What do you want from me?"

The General laughed, "I want nothing from you. I only wish to show you something. I think it would be the least you could do given the generous hospitality we have given you."

Hopper was confused. Why would the General want to show him anything? What could he possibly gain from showing him anything in this lab.

He sighed, "Well let's go then."

The General gave him a nice cruel smile, and yelled something in Russian to his guards. They quickly unstrapped Hopper from the chair and helped him stand up. Pain immediately exploded in his chest area.

"You have suffered several broken ribs from our previous discussion. They should heal quickly. For now though, we'll just have to push you around in a wheelchair." The general yelled in Russian again, and two scientists appeared next to him with a wheelchair. They all helped Hopper get in, and soon he was being pushed by a guard down a hallway, following the General.

This lab was much like the one at Starcourt, only much bigger. Everything was clean as could be, hundreds of soldiers and scientists crowded the rooms they passed. After a few minutes, they were in front of a door that required a key card scanner. In front of the door was a large red warning sign, something Hopper had found you should avoid in the past.

After they passed through the door, they found themselves in a large room with a dozen control panels. Again, it was very similar to the one back in Hawkins, only double the size. If he had to guess, he would say over a hundred scientists were present in the room with him. They were all in desks facing a large screen in the front of the room, almost like a movie theater.

As he was getting pushed to the front of the room, nobody was even giving him a second glance, they were too focused on their work. When they finally reached the front of the room, the General told the guards something, and they disappeared, leaving Hopper and the General alone.

The General chuckled, "It's funny Jim Hopper, how you and those Americans back home think you're doing the right thing by preventing the inevitable."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"You people spend all your time trying to prevent the growth from happening, trying to prevent change. You don't realise change is going to happen either way, whether you like it or not."

He motioned to the screen in front of him, "That girl they call Eleven started this, she gave it an opportunity to reach into our world. Yet, you and your silly Americans chose to not let it. To reject the generous gift of world domination it was giving you. Us Russians know better, we know potential when we see it."

He grabbed a remote off the front desk and pressed a button. The screen in front of him displayed one of the most horrifying images Hopper had ever seen in his life. It was the Gate, only much bigger than he had ever seen it. The gash in the earth's tissue had to be the size of the Empire State building back in New York, maybe even bigger. On the screen he could faintly make out a shadow-like creature appearing at the gate, something Hopper had wished to never see again.

The General didn't explain exactly what he was showing him, but he was smart enough to put the pieces together. The Gate was here, in Russia, and they had opened it intentionally.

Hopper had so many questions, yet he remained silent, gaping at the video screen. If the Russians already had a portal, what the hell were they doing in Hawkins? Why did they care about El if they could just make gates on their own?

He swallowed hard, "Your psychotic, you can't possibly think-"

The General raised his hand, "We aren't afraid of progress, Jim Hopper. That's the difference between our country's. You people were handed a gift, a gift from the heavens, and you refused to take it. Instead, you tried to make it normal, wasting its power."

It occurred to Hopper the General wasn't talking about the Upside Down anymore, instead about something else. "She's not a weapon, she's a human being."

The General laughed, "It seems we have very different opinions on this matter."

Hopper shook his head, trying to process all that he had just found out. "Why are you showing me this?"

"You will learn soon enough. For now, my guards will show you to your room, we need to get you healthy again."

Hopper was escorted out by the guards once again, and for once he was at a complete loss for words. He had no idea what to think.

One thing was sure though, The entire world was in grave danger.

* * *

December 22st (Hawkins, Indiana)

Mike was in his room, trying to prepare for the party later tonight. The problem was, he had no idea what he was going to wear. They didn't exactly give out a manual for teenagers explaining these sorts of situations. He knew it was just going to be him and his friends, but still, he liked to look nice sometimes. Especially for El.

Just as he was about to give up and just keep on what he was already wearing(sweatshirt and jeans), he heard a knock on his bedroom door. When he opened it, he found Nancy waiting at the door, smiling at him.

"Wow, Mike is in his room alone, and El isn't with him? Mom and I didn't think you guys would separate this entire trip!"

"Yeah well, we all had to go home to change and stuff," he explained to her. "Were all hanging out again tonight."

"Whatcha guys doing?" She asked suspiciously.

Mike shuffled his feet awkwardly, "Well we were going to do this movie night thing…. At Steve's house."

"At Steve's house?" Nancy looked really suspicious now. "And you're going to Steve Harrington's house because…..?

"He invited us," Mike quickly explained. "You know how good of friends him and Dustin are, and he missed Will and El as much as we did."

"Does this maybe have to do with the fact that his parents won't be home all weekend?" she raised her eyebrows.

"No! Wait how could you possibly know that?"

"I didn't until now. So what's actually going on Mike, you guys throwing a rager or something?" She asked.

"No! Were just hanging out watching some movies," he exasperated. He looked over at Nancy and realised she was trying hard not to laugh.

"Relax doofus, I'm not going to tell mom. You need to get better at lying though, that was completely pathetic," Nancy smiled.

"Whatever," he shook his head. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Actually though Mike, you need some help. I'm not trying to be mean, I just like to tease, you know that."

"That would be nice," Mike told her honestly. "What the hell am I supposed to wear to these things? It's just me and my friends."

"Well for starters, I would lose the sweatshirt. I think the jeans are probably fine. I would wear that nice button down that mom got you last summer, the blue one." Mike reached into his closet and pulled out the shirt Nancy was talking about. He decided it was rather nice looking, and nodded towards Nancy in approval.

"Thanks," he told her.

She smiled, "Your welcome, just don't do anything stupid."

"Can't promise that, but I'll be careful."

She nodded her head in approval, and watched Mike get ready for a few minutes. After a while, she cleared her throat.

"Hey Mike?" she asked.

"Yeah?

She sighed, taking a seat next to him on his bed. "You know you can talk to me right? Like, about girl stuff."

"Geez Nancy, no I would not like to talk to you about 'girl stuff'." He exclaimed. That had completely come out of nowhere.

"I'm not saying you have to! I'm just saying I'm always here incase you need help, like if you ever need to borrow the car, if you need me to buy you some protection-

"I really appreciate that," Mike told her, his face reddening at this conversation. In reality he did appreciate her. She went out of her way as often as she could to be a relationship counselor for him, almost becoming the father Mike never felt that he had. But she was just a little much sometimes, talking about things a little too personal for Mike's liking.

"It's just that, you're going to a party with your girlfriend." Nancy told him. "I know you guys are most likely going to drink there. I just want to make sure you're not going to do something she won't like. I know you're not like that, but alcohol can get the best of us sometimes."

Looking at the expression on her face, it was obvious Nancy had some personal experiences at parties she wasn't proud of. It made Mike's expression soften a bit, sorry that he wasn't being as grateful as he could have been.

"Hey Nance, I'll be careful alright? It's just me and my friends. We won't be that stupid."

She laughed, wiping a single tear from her eye, looking away from Mike. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Nancy broke the silence. "So what bullshit story did you feed mom about where you are tonight,"

"We're going to see a movie," he told her. It's what the group decided on telling all their parents."Probably going to crash at Lucas's later,"

"Smart. Well if you get caught, it was nice knowing you," she told him. "You want a ride to Steve's?"

"Sure," he said. "You mind picking up Will and El on the way? I told Mrs. Byers I would go with them."

"Yeah that's fine."

In about 20 minutes they were in Nancy's car, on their way to pick up El and Will from the Hotel. He had to admit he felt a little bad for Mrs. Byers, always being stuck in the Hotel and her kids were always leaving her. She must have figured that was going to happen when they came though, so she couldn't be too upset.

Will and El were staying at a local hotel near the old Byers house, so it wasn't too far from the Wheeler household. By the looks of it, it was fairly well maintained and looked like a comfortable place to live. It couldn't be that comfortable in a hotel room though, so Mike was going to make sure Will and El spent as little time sleeping there as possible.

When they pulled up to the hotel, Will and El looked a little bit surprised to see them. The original plan was for Mike to walk with them to Steve's, which was about a 20 minute walk. So he could understand their confusion.

He gave them a thumbs up out the window, letting them know Nancy was cool with the whole situation. Will and El climbed into the backseat of Nancy's station wagon, looking pretty uncomfortable.

Naturally, Nancy broke the ice. "So, party at Steve's, huh? It's like my sophomore year of highschool all over again."

"I thought we weren't telling anyone Mike," Will said coldly.

"I wasn't going to lie to her!" he raised his hands defensively. "It's not like she really cares anyway, right Nance?"

"Oh, I care," Nancy raised her eyebrows. "You're gonna get a stern talking to when we get home."

El giggled at Nancy's comment, Will just rolled his eyes. "Please don't tell Jonathon, he'd probably murder me."

"I honestly don't think he'd care about Will, but I'll try not to. We're hanging out later though, and if it comes up I'm not gonna lie to him," She told him honestly.

Will seemed satisfied enough by that answer, and began to draw shapes out of the condensation in the window. It was only a five minute drive to Steve's, but Nancy was purposely going the long way, no doubt trying to embarrass Mike.

"So El," Nancy began. "I hope Mike is treating you right."

"The best," She said with a smile.

Nancy smirked, "Good, because like I was telling Mike earlier, if you ever need anything-

Mike cut in, "Nancy, kindly shut the fuck up and please refrain from talking about that horrible conversaton we had earlier."

"What conversation?" El asked innocently.

Nancy feigned being hurt, "Micheal Wheeler, watch your tone. It is very important to me that you and El take the necessary safety precautions in such a fragile part of your relationship. Being the kind older sister that I am, I figured I could help you guys out whenever you need it."

"Help us out?" El said, confused. Will began to snicker in the back.

"Oh look! It's our stop," Mike said as they pulled up to Steve's house. He practically jumped out of the car, dragging Will and El out of the backseat along with him.

"Thanks for the ride Nancy," Mike said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Your welcome honey, call me if you need anything," She blew him a kiss.

Mike flipped her off the entire time she was backing out, just so she got the message. When she finally left, El turned to him. "Nancy is pretty cool,"

"Yeah, she's just awesome," Mike rolled his eyes.

"I mean it, you're lucky to have a sister, even if she teases." El pointed out.

"Yeah, I am pretty lucky I guess," Mike grumbled. Nancy could go from being the most supportive sister in the world to outright embarrassing him in front of his girlfriend and best friend. But he supposes the world is better off with her than without her.

As the three of them walked up to Steve's front door, he heard laughter and voices coming from inside already. Before Mike could even knock, Steve opened the door, wearing his signature sunglasses.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Steve whipped his glasses off. "Who's ready to get fucked up?"

* * *

As soon as Mike entered Steve's living room, he already regretted saying yes to this plan. Steve's living room consisted of more beer than Mike had ever seen in his life, 3 bottles of Vodka, a bunch of club soda. A number of metal buckets were also inside the room, most likely to hold their puke when they were done with the night.

Seated in the living room was Robin, who was one of Steve's best friends, and Dustin.

"Mike, El, Will, you guys ready to get fucked up?" Dustin yelled.

Mike shook his head, "You really know how to make me not excited to try new things, you know that Steve?"

Steve smirked, "You guys are gonna have fun, I promise. Besides, if anyone gets out of line I'll have Robin bring out my secret weapon."

"Ice creams are not gonna sober them up Harrington," Robin rolled her eyes.

"I never said it was going to sober them up," Steve said."You ever make a beer float? Those things are amazing!"

"Why do you have ice cream?" WIll asked.

"Since me and Robin were working in the mall at the time of the 'fire', Scoops Ahoy had no choice but to give us free ice cream for life," Steve explained. "They had us working more hours than were technically legal, so it was a way for us to keep quiet."

"But where is there even another Scoops Ahoy?" Mike asked

"Indianpolis," Steve laughed. "Made the 3 hour drive one time and took about 15 quarts with me, I'm not making that trip again anytime soon."

"Jeez," Mike shook his head.

Steve went over to his boombox to put on one of his mixtapes, and then took a next to Robin on the couch, cracking open a beer.

"So when are the other shitheads showing up, or are they ditching you guys?"

Mike shrugged," I think they're gonna be coming together. They probably have to bike so it's going to take a little longer."

"Great," Steve grumbled. "Well while you guys are here, I'm going to go over some ground rules."

"Ground rules?" Robin laughed. "This isn't the Steve Harrington I remember from highschool."

"Yeah well when I'm having a party consisting of 6 freshman, you never know what kind of bullshit they're going to get themselves into."

Just then, Mike heard a ring at the doorbell. Steve went over to answer, and two seconds later Lucas and Max were standing in the living room. Max went to go drag El over by her, separating them from Lucas and Mike, no doubt doing this on purpose. Mike couldn't help but to clench his teeth. He hated when girls did this.

"Alright, well like I was telling these other dorks, there's going to be some ground rules." Steve explained.

Dustin suppressed a laugh, and Steve glared at him. "Ground rules Henderson, you have a problem with that?"

"No sir Mr Harrigton sir." Dustin saluted. Robin started laughing.

Steve just rolled his eyes, "Rule number one, nobody goes outside unless me and Robin are accompanying you. We need to keep tabs on you shits, and we don't want a drunk kid drowning in my pool."

Mike thought that was fair enough. He wasn't even planning on swimming.

"Rule number 2, nobody touches the phone. Ever. Unless you ask my permission to call your parents. Which in that case I will be monitoring the call, letting them know you are most definitely not at Steve Harrigtons house. My parents also could call, so do not answer the phone."

"Rule number 3, Nobody goes into the basement. It's like my Dad's man cave. He's going to know if somethings out of place if we touch it, so just don't go down there."

"Rule number 4, If I yell code red, all 6 of you are sprinting into the woods. That is the only instance I'm letting you leave the house. Code red most likely means cop, not a dangerous monster, but you never know."

Mike thought that the rules weren't bad at all. He had expected that Steve was going to get tough on them.

"Rule number 5, final rule, No couple can go into one of those free rooms upstairs. I'm looking at you Wheeler and Jean Grey."

Mike quickly glanced in El's direction, and her face was as red as a tomato. "Why can't we go into a spare room?" he asked.

"Because I'm not cleaning your love stains off those beds upstairs. Once the nights over, me and Robin will divide you guys up accordingly, and then you can take the bedrooms."

"We weren't going to make…. Fuck you Steve." Everyone in the room started laughing. Robin made eye contact with Mike giving him a "don't worry about it", hand gesture. Mike figured there might still be a chance they could stay together.

The thing was, Mike didn't even want to have sex with El. Well he did, but he just wanted their relationship to progress naturally. Everyone at school was always worried about sexual encounters, acting like they were the most important thing in the world. But Mike just wanted El to be near him. He just wanted to hold her and keep her close. If things started to lead down the sexual path, he wouldn't mind it. But for now he was more than ok with where they were at right now, which was right around 2nd base. He figured a double wasn't a bad start.

"Well since Wheeler got roasted first tonight, I feel that it's only right that he takes first drink," Steve announced.

Everyone cheered. El came over and squeezed his hand reassuringly, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Mike cringed. Given his social anxiety problem, he was never going to drink unless he was pushed into it. This was probably his only chance.

In response, Mike went over to one of the 12 packs and grabbed a beer, popping the top in the process. Without hesitation, he took a big gulp.

After he swallowed and recoiled at the taste. "This is awful!" he laughed.

Steve clapped him on the back, "You get used to it buddy."

* * *

Mike's first impression of drinking alcohol was that he liked it, a lot. He never thought something could loosen him up as much as beer could. Basically all of the problems he was previously thinking of have disappeared, and he was now thinking only in the moment. He found himself saying things to El he never thought he could ever say to her.

"You look super pretty tonight," He told her as they were dancing to Micheal Jackson's 'Beat it'.

"Thank you Mike," she blushed.

"Just being around you makes me the happiest person in the world," he said.

She closed the distance between them and before they knew it they were making out on the couch.

As for the others, Dustin definitely wasn't what you would consider a lightweight. He had already downed about 4 beers and was now in the kitchen with Steve making some of those beer floats they were talking about earlier.

Max was by far drinking the most though, and something told Mike this wasn't her first time drinking. She was practically tripping over Lucas already and it had only been a little over an hour.

Speaking of Lucas, he tended to shy away from the alcohol a bit more, only consuming about 3 beers so far, about the same as Mike. But he seemed to be having a good time as well. Laying back and watching the scene unfold in front of him.

El on the other hand was struggling a little bit. She hated the taste, so it was hard for her to consume it. Mike also didn't know how much she should be drinking. She weighed about a hundred pounds dripping wet, so he was sure she shouldn't be consuming as much as the rest of them. She did manage to choke down a couple though, and she was still waiting for the beer floats Steve and Dustin were making.

Even Will seemed to be enjoying himself. Mike started seeing the old Will coming out from his hiding place, acting like he used to before shit hit the fan with the Upside Down. He danced with Robin, who wasn't drinking that night.

Something Mike noticed was that Steve's rules he put in place had completely gone out the window. They were doing pretty good until Dustin went to the basement and found Steve's bat he used to kill Demogorgons with, and started to take some practice swings with it. Steve either didn't care or was too drunk to notice, and given the amount of cans he demolished that night, Mike had to guess it was door number two.

After Dustin and Steve finished mixing the beer floats, Steve made an announcement.

"Shotgun contest by the pool ladies and gentlemen. Winner gets a beer float!"

Everyone cheered and went over to the pool. Before Mike could get outside, El tugged on his arm sleeve. "What's a shotgun? Isn't that a gun?"

Mike laughed, "It's when you make a slit in the bottom of a bear can and chug the whole thing. It's supposed to be kindoff hard for people like us."

El nodded, still looking a little confused. When they entered Steve's patio, Dustin already failed his shotgun, sputtering all over the ground.

"Fuck, that's harder than it looks," Dustin wiped his mouth off. "Mike you try it."

"Hell no, I'm not embarrassing myself." Mike told him. "Max looks pretty eager though."

"Yeah, I think Max hit her drink limit," Lucas laughed. Max was currently laying back down on the ground, staring up at the sky.

"I'll do it," El offered.

"Are you sure?" Mike asked. He knew he shouldn't care what El does, but she didn't even know what shotgun meant a minute ago.

To answer his question, El slit her beer and chugged the whole thing down like a pro, giving a satisfied burp at the end of her chug.

"Holy shit!" Steve said. "We have a winner!"

"El's a beast!" Dustin yelled.

"How the hell did you learn how to do that!" Mike laughed.

"Hopper showed me with Coke one time, I used to do it at the cabin a lot." El explained.

"That's fucking awesome! El's a natural partier." Steve declared.

Robin and Dustin came over to give El her prize. She reluctantly gave Mike a taste, and he had to admit it was pretty good.

They stayed outside for a while, drinking and hanging out, being normal teenagers for once. Will even tried a shotgun, and was successful with it as well. Mike hadn't seen a smile wider on Will's face when he received his prize since their old D&D games.

Mike even jumped into the pool, bringing El with him. They played and splashed around in the pool for a bit before Max woke up and threw up all over the pool. Let's just say it put an end to their fun pretty quickly.

As he exited the pool, Mike decided to check the time. He gasped when he realized it was already one thirty.

"Guys, we've been here for six hours, it's 130 already," Mike told them.

"Time flies when you're WASTED!" Steve yelled from the couch inside. He looked about ready to pass out.

"Shhhhh," Robin went inside and put on his sunglasses for him. Soon, Steve was snoring up a storm.

"Well, I think you've all about hit your limits," Robin laughed. Dustin was staring off into space as if there was something there. Max was already passed out in a bed upstairs. Lucas and Mike were both fine, but drank more than either of them had expected. Will was trying to draw on Steve's walls outside, and Mike figured Steve's parents wouldn't be too happy if he kept it up.

El was definitely what you would call drunk, even if she didn't want to admit it. She wasn't as bad as Max or Steve, but her words were slurring together and she could barely walk in a straight line.

"Did we pass the test?" Dustin asked without blinking.

Robin laughed, "Honestly, I don't think there ever was a test. I think Steve just likes hanging out with you guys."

They all laughed at that, and Robin clapped her hands, "Alright, so I'm going to go fetch Picasso over there and get him set up in Steve's room. The rest of you guys just do whatever, Steve's rule doesn't matter."

El whispered in his ear,"I can't wait to share a bed with you, you make me want to do naughty things."

At this Mike stiffened. He knew this was drunk El talking, but the words had to come from somewhere. He felt his member growing in his jeans. His very attractive girlfriend just told him she wanted to share a bed with him and do naughty things was a little too much for him to handle.

As they climbed the stairs, El pointed to the room next to Steve's, "Me and Mike's room," she announced, dragging him by the hand.

Mike smirked and waved to Dustin and Lucas as he was being dragged. They both flipped him off.

A literal second after Mike closed the door, El pushed him onto the bed with more force than he knew she was capable of.

"Woah, El! You ok there?" he asked.

"Stop talking," She crashed her lips onto his and she started to unbutton his shirt. Mike was confused for a number of reasons. El was never this agressive for starters, and secondly she had never tried to take his shirt off before. He wondered if she read about it somewhere. Either way, Mike wasn't complaining.

After she got his shirt unbuttoned, she took it off and tossed it into the corner. She continued to kiss him, to touch him in places Mike had never been touched before. The feeling of her cold hands on his chest was something he didn't think he could ever erase from his mind.

After she removed her shirt , he thought his heart was going to beat out of his chest. Mostly because she wasn't even wearing a bra. He found himself gaping at her naked breasts, unable to control himself.

"Holy Shit!" he said. "You look incredible."

"Shut up," El told him. She started to kiss down his neck, and eventually down to his chest. Mike groaned in pleasure.

Unable to control his urges anymore, Mike started to move his hips into hers rhythmically. She returned the favor, and soon they were dry humping each other. It was quite possibly the greatest feeling Mike had ever experienced. Especially since she was moaning up a storm in his ear.

"Don't stop!" she yelled.

"Not planning on it!" he told her.

Although, Mike could feel himself getting closer and closer to tipping over the edge, which he did not want to do. He didn't want to freak her out by creaming himself in front of her, especially not while they still had clothes on.

Fortunately, Mike didn't have to worry about it, because she went over the edge first, screaming into the air. He figured everyone in the entire house could hear that one, but he would deal with the teasing later.

Next though, something really weird happened. While El was screaming, The pillow Mike was laying on started to life up into the air, along with everything else that wasn't tied down in the room. The lights began to flicker as well, like they used to when El would do something supernatural.

After she was done screaming, the objects fell around them, though the lights kept flickering. When El opened her eyes, she was smiling. "Oh Mike."

"Uhhhhhh," was his very intelligent response. "Did you just see that?"

"See what?" then she noticed the lights flickering, and the fact that everything in the room was out of place. A single drop of blood dripped down from her nose.

"Did I…?" she asked, gaping.

"El, I think you just got your powers back." Mike said wide eyed.

**Wow, that was a really fun chapter to write. A lot of the party was actually based on one that happened my freshman year. I was Mike and El was my girlfriend at the time(minus the sexual interactions) Max was my girlfriends best friend, and Steve was my best friend's idiot older brother. By the way, writing Nany and Mike interactions is probably my favorite part of this story. It's sort of based on banter between me and my sister, so I have a lot of material. If you have any comments or concerns, feel free to leave a comment. Like I said before, I love reading them. They motivate me to write even more**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys. Welcome back. Not sure what to give you in terms of author's notes, but expect updates to occur even more frequently I guess. I'm also going back to my old formula of giving Mike and Eleven a perspective per chapter. I feel like I'm missing a lot of character development by doing it the other way. This chapter is long af, so be ready to read. Other than that, thanks for your comments on my previous post, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

December 22st (Kamchatka Russia)

Hopper had to admit, even though his new living situation was a lot closer to danger, it was also a lot more comfortable for him to live in. The beds in the lab were a lot more comfortable than the prison, and he actually had clean clothes to wear.

Since he had been thrown in the cell the day before, he had actually received two real meals, filled with the amount of food he would probably eat back in Hawkins. If he didn't know any better, he would think the Russians were trying to get him healthy again.

Even though his prison life had drastically improved, Hopper still couldn't help but to be a little bit on edge. The Russians wanted something from him, he was sure of it. There was now way they would risk showing him the Gate if they weren't going to try and use him in some way. Little did those Russians know he would rather die than to help them even a little bit.

As Hopper paced around his cell room, he began to think of all the reasons the Russians could possibly want him, or what they could use him for. For whatever reason, Joyce, El, Will and Jonothan were MIA. The Russians could assume they were dead, but Hopper knew better. Joyce most definitely hid them someplace safe. Jim chucked to himself knowing the fit El was putting up not being able to see Mike whenever she wanted.

_Mike_. Him and the other kids were most definitely in danger, even if they didn't know it yet. The fact that the Russians knew their names and locations was bad enough. But if they got their hands on someone like Mike, and used him as bait for someone like El…..

_Stop thinking like that_. He told himself that if he didn't end up dying a slow, painful death in this prison, he owed the kids enough to save their lives. Or at least try to. Without them, Hopper would not be alive right now, and neither would El. They put their life on the line countless times, when they were as young as 12. He wouldn't let them get caught up in this mess if he had anything to say about it.

He sat down in his bed and stared at the clock, knowing it would be awhile before the General requested an audience again. All he could do now was wait, for who knows how long

* * *

December 23rd (Hawkins Indiana)

"Why the hell does all the weird shit happen when we're asleep?" Dustin asked.

It was 10 am Saturday morning, and El and Mike had just told the others about what happened last night. She still couldn't get over what had happened. Not only about her powers, but about Mike as well. She had never dreamed things would accelerate that quickly. She was almost possessed last night, watching herself doing things she never dreamed she would have the confidence to do. It was like her hormones had completely taken over her body.

"Hey Jean Grey, were talking to you," Steve snapped.

El groaned. She had the worst headache she had ever experienced, and the groups in depth questions were not making it any easier on her.

"Ok since she's not answering me, I'm gonna ask you Wheeler," Steve said. "How the hell did El get her powers back."

"I already told you," Mike threw his hands up in frustration. "We were sleeping, and then she woke up screaming. Everything in the room started floating up in the air, and the lights started to flicker. Everything returned to normal when El stopped screaming."

"And you say she started screaming from a nightmare, right?" Dustin asked.

"Yeah?" Mike answered.

"Ok ok, I was just wondering," Dustin smirked. "It's just that me and Lucas were hearing some interesting noises from the room next door, which was yours. So I don't know if the screams occurred randomly."

"Dustin," El hissed. "That's not important."

"Uh, yeah it is important. We need to figure out how you activated your powers, whether that was from this "nightmare" bullshit story, or from something Mike did-"

"Hold on a second, I'm so lost." Will said. He was currently face down on the kitchen table, obviously feeling the repercussions from last night. "So you and Mike were doing something or you weren't doing something?"

"Ok fine, whatever," El had had enough of this. "Me and Mike were doing 'something' and I had a good scream, then the things started floating up in the air."

"Woah! Good work Mike!" Dustin held up his hand for a high five, which Mike was not willing to return.

"None of this is important," Mike said, though his face was red. "All everyone needs to know is that El somehow activated her powers last night, so we know that they're still in there somewhere."

"Uh I think this is important," Steve said, standing up. "First, you blatantly refuse to follow my rules, then you fuck each other in my parents room of all places. Now you guys are lying to me? You have another thing coming."

Steve started to get up and immediately face planted on the floor, taking his intimidation factor way down.

Robin shook her head and helped him up, setting him up on the recliner. "Steve, I told them they could break your rules, that's on me. Also, you shouldn't be worried about what they do in the privacy of one another. It's disrespectful for you to even ask."

Steve huphed, "Whatever. But if there's love stains on my parents bed-"

"We didn't do that," Mike said. "Don't worry."

Max groaned from the couch in the living room. If anyone looked and felt worse than El, it was Max. She hadn't seen the redhead move from her spot on the couch all morning. "So basically what I got from that conversation, is that El gets her powers now through orgasams?"

"I don't think it's like that," Mike shook his head. "I think it was because she was relaxed. Drinking made her mind and body loosen up, and then the highrise of emotions made her activate her powers. What do you think El?"

El didn't know what to think. This was all super embarrassing for her. Even though she liked what had happened last night with Mike, she wished they didn't have to make it so public, it was embarrassing. She also didn't know what to think about her powers. She hadn't tried them yet this morning, but she had a feeling they weren't going to work, even after last night. Something happened last night that opened her floodgates, and she felt as if she were whole again for a couple minutes.

Despite feeling this way, she shook her head,"I don't know what to think. I need some time."

"That's fair," Lucas stood up from the couch next to Max. "This is supposed to be fun anyways. Will and El don't have that much time here, we should make the most of it. We knew El's powers would return one day, let's not act like this changes anything."

He was right, this didn't change much. If anything, this confused her even more, especially around Mike. She could barely look at him without blushing. She knew she needed a day off from all this drama.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I feel like complete shit. My mom's going to know something's up if I come home and sleep all day." Dustin said.

"Same," Lucas agreed. "Erica will bust me the minute I come through the door. She was suspicious before I left last night."

"We could all go to my house and sleep it off," Mike offered. "My mom's not going to be home. Saturday is the day where she shops around for five hours and pretends like we don't exist."

The boys all nodded at that, but El just felt sick. Both from the hangover and from what happened last night. She needed space, especially away from Mike. No offense to him, but he wasn't necessarily calming her nerves about this whole situation.

Mike squeezed her hand, asking her what she thought. She sighed, "I think I'm just going to go home Mike. I feel awful."

"True that," Max grumbled. "I'm going home too."

Mike frowned. She wasn't trying to hurt his feelings, but she just really needed to be alone for now. She'd maybe feel better later so that they could hang out, but for now she was going home.

She squeezed his hand reassuringly, pulling down his head close so that she could whisper in his ear. "I'll try and come over tonight, ok? Just you and me."

He nodded, seeming to understand her need for space. "Well, I can call Nancy to come pick us up, Will you trying to come too?"

"Why not," Will shrugged. "If mom or Jonathan see me like this I'm dead. El are you sure you're going to be ok?"

"I'm quiet by nature," she explained. "They're not going to notice."

"Alright, well I'm going to leave now then to walk Max home, Mike you want to just leave your backdoor open for when I get there?" Lucas asked.

"Sure," he shrugged."Dustin you want a ride over?"

"Sure, we gotta help Steve clean everything up first though. It's only fair." Dustin said.

"I got it guys," Steve waved them off, seemingly calmed down from his meltdown earlier. "Go home and don't be suspicious. If I don't get any phone calls from angry parents, I'll help you guys with whatever you need for the quarry."

"Thanks Steve," Mike smiled.

"Yeah, well your ass is grass if I find any strange substances upstairs Wheeler."

Mike went over to the phone and called Nancy. 20 minutes later she arrived to pick them up.

"Well you guys look like you had fun," Nancy laughed.

"The sun is hurting my eyes!" Dustin yelled.

Nancy smirked,"I take it they're coming over to our house? Mom's not home right now."

"I figured," Mike shrugged. "We're dropping El off at the hotel though, she's tired."

"I bet," Nancy said.

After they dropped El off at the hotel, El went over to the front window to kiss Mike goodbye, "I'll call later, ok?" she said.

"Sounds good," he gave her a thumbs up.

As El made the long trip up the stairs, her pounding headache only got worse. The lights in the hotel seemed like they were specifically meant to make her head hurt.

She knocked at the door, which was answered quickly by Joyce,

"Oh hi El! How was your night at Max's?" she asked.

"It was fine," El shrugged. "Will is over at Mike's, he said he'll be home later."

"Oh, you didn't want to go with him?" Joyce asked, concerned.

El shifted her feet awkwardly. "They're playing an all boys game, I'll go over later. I'm tired and I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh," Joyce seemed a little suspicious. She knew Mike would never outright refuse her to come over, and Joyce also knew El would never allow them to have an all boys day that didn't include her or Max.

"Well, I'm going out to visit some old friends, I'll be home for dinner. Jonathan should be coming back from school in a few hours."

"School?" El asked.  
"Some of his credits didn't transfer over right into his new school, so he's talking to the principle about getting them faxed over."

El just nodded, which is what she normally did whenever she didn't understand something.

After Joyce left, El just layed there on her rather uncomfortable bed, trying to sleep away her pain.

* * *

"Are you kidding me?" Nancy laughed. "That's hilarious!"

"I know!" Dustin nodded. "When we woke up we saw Will's creation in its entirety all across the back of Steve's house."

"And Will doesn't remember any of this?" Nancy asked.

Will shook his head, "I know people do weird things when they're drunk, but that's a whole new level of weird."

"I'm calling you Penis Picasso from now on," Mike laughed.

"Mike I don't think you should be talking," Dustin waggled his eyebrows.

"Ooooo what did Mike do," Nancy asked. "Did he throw up on El or something."

"No," Mike said. "Dustin's just being an idiot, don't worry about it. Isn't it time for you to leave the basement anyway?"

"Fine, fine," Nancy raised her hands defensively. "I'll let you guys know when mom gets home."

"Thanks Nance," Lucas waved as she went up the stairs. After they heard the basement door close, the three boys turned to Mike.

"Well Mike, spill," Lucas said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mike asked.

"What did you and El do last night?" Dustin asked.

Mike was not about to share the private details of his love life with these three horny vultures. Well, two horny vultures. Will doesn't really count.

"I'm not telling you guys shit. Last time I opened up about us she was spying me. I can't go through a breakup again guys, I don't have the mental capacity."

"Your forgetting party rules, Mike." Dustin grinned.

Mike gave him a look of confusion, "What?"

"Back in 6th grade, we made a rule. Whenever a party member has sexual interactions with another party member's sibling, they have the right to know every detail."

Mike looked at Will and groaned, "That shouldn't even count. We made that rule in like 6th grade, things are different now. We didn't know someone's sibling would have telekinetic powers that she could use to throw me into a wall. We just made that because you guys thought Nancy was hot."

"All very valid points, however, we made a bloodpact. So it's Will's decision." Dustin said.

Will gave Mike a blank stare," I want to hear it."

Mike gave him a disgusted look, "This is your sister man. Adopted, but still your sister!"

"Yeah, and I need to know if I have to go get Steve's baseball bat and beat the shit out of you for violating her, so spill the beans."

Mike sighed. Will could be awfully scary when he wanted to be. "If I agree to tell you guys minimal details, we have to make a pact that what I say never leaves this room, ever. Nancy, can't find out. Max can't find out. Steve can't find out. Everyone understand me?"

They all nodded. Mike took another deep breath. "And if for some freaky reason El finds out we talked about this, you guys are telling her you strapped me to a chair and threatened to murder my family, got it?"

"Yes Mike, jeez. Who do you think we are?" Dustin asked innocently.

Mike shook his head. "We just made out shirtless, and then dry humped each other for a while until she came,"

"Yeah Mike! How were the units?" Dustin asked excitedly.

"The what?" Mike asked

"Her breasts Micheal, how were they?"

"Uhhhhhh," Mike shifted awkwardly. Will was staring him down like a predator and Lucas looked like he was about to burst out laughing. "They were great, thanks for asking."

Dustin nodded approvingly, "Well I think that just about covers it. On behalf of the rest of the party Mike, congratulations. You have gotten farther with an attractive female than any of us have."

"I mean I figured, but thanks I guess? Can we get on from this incredibly awkward interrogation now?"

"Will, does that satisfy your needs?" Dustin asked.

"Don't ever say that again Dustin, and yeah that's fine. I won't kill you Mike. Not yet."

"Alright, well don't expect me to share every interesting detail of my love life with you guys. This is a one time thing." Mike told them. "Now let's go to sleep, my head hurts."

Dustin and Will begrudgingly took two recliners and went to sleep fast. Mike offered Lucas the couch and he took the sleeping bag.

"Don't worry about them," Lucas gestured towards Will and Dustin. "They don't understand relationships. They'll be virgins until they're 40."

"Yeah, well that doesn't make me feel any better. El's mad at me and I'm still not sure why. I don't get her sometimes Lucas, things will be going great and then all of a sudden she gets offended over the littlest things. It makes me doubt whether or not we can make this relationship last."

Lucas was silent for a long time. Mike thought he had fallen asleep, but eventually he broke the silence. "If I'm being honest? I don't think you guys realise how lucky you are."

"What do you mean?" Mike asked.

Lucas sat up, facing Mike now. "Like, you guys were a once and a lifetime meeting. So many things could have happened that could have led to you never ending up together. You guys love each other so much it's sickening. But you don't communicate, ever."

Mike sat up more, interested in hearing what else Lucas had to say. "Like me and Max fight a ton, but at least were brutally honest with each other. You and El avoid talking to each other in fear the other one won't feel the same way. It's not healthy. Your guy's motto is `friends don't lie', yet you avoid expressing how each other really feel, which is even worse than lying."

"So, what do you suggest," Mike asked. Lucas had completely nailed their relationship head on.

"Tell her how you feel, all the time. Even if it leads to her getting angry with you. If you don't want her to do something in fear she'll get hurt, tell her that. If you want to progress your relationship more, tell her that. She's never going to leave you Mike, and you would never leave her, so don't give me that bullshit. It's just so stupid how you guys act sometimes, your probably going to get married one day yet you skirt around each other like it's some regular relationship."

As he sat back, he realised Lucas was right. El hadn't told him the full truth as to why she didn't want to come over here, and Mike was 90% sure it had to do with what happened the night before. He hadn't been honest with her about his social anxiety, even though she'd probably been affected by it the most. They did need to be more honest with each other, and that thought scared the crap out of him. If El didn't feel the same way about him, he didn't know what he would do.

"Thanks Lucas, that actually helps a lot," He told Lucas honestly.

Lucas returned to his sleeping position, but something was still bothering Mike.

"Lucas?" he asked.

Lucas turned back around, "Yeah Mike?"

"You said that El and I are meant for each other, that were in it for the long haul. Do you think the same thing is going to happen between you and Max?"

Lucas was silent for a long time, like he was debating telling Mike everything or not. "Honestly Mike, I don't know. There's some days when I feel like we'll never break up. And others where I feel like we should just break up now, because it's not going anywhere. I mean I love her, but I don't know if it's a romantic type of love, you know? Let me ask you something. No matter how many silly arguments you have with El, do you ever see each other not being romantically involved?"

Mike didn't even hesitate, "Never."

"Well with Max sometimes, I feel like we would be better off as friends. The boyfriend/girlfriend label puts so much pressure on us, especially when we hang out with you and El. We like to have fun with each other, but were obviously not as serious as you guys."

Mike thought about it for a minute, "You should talk to her about it."

Lucas hesitated, "I'll talk to her more about our relationship if you promise me you and El sort you bullshit out. You guys are too important to each other to keep getting in these petty arguments."

"Deal," Mike said smiling.

As Lucas went to sleep, Mike made a promise to himself that he was going to talk to El about everything, tonight.

* * *

El woke up from her nap feeling refreshed, recharged, and pretty shitty all at the same time. She just about threw up when she tried to sit up on her bed, and could feel her heartbeat through her pounding skull.

El surveyed the room and found that no one was there with her, which was a good thing considering her current state. Joyce would be even more suspicious if she found El looking like this. Jonathan's suitcase had been torn into, so it was safe to assume that he had already made his way over to the Wheelers. El almost wished he woke her up, because she was in no condition to walk all the way over to Mike's house.

She thought about calling Mike and telling him she couldn't make it tonight, but she didn't want him to get the wrong idea. El had already ditched Mike without leaving him much of an explanation, lying to him would only put even more stress on their relationship. Because in reality, she really did want to see him tonight. She was excited that they were going to be able to spend some time alone, even if Mike and her were both sporting massive hangovers.

El glanced at the digital clock on the table, and the time read 3:30. Sighing, El went over to the telephone and rang Mike's house.

"Wheeler residence, Karen speaking," El recognized the voice as Mike's mother.

"Hello, this is El. Is Mike there right now?"

"Oh hello honey! Mike is in the basement right now. I'll let him know you're on the line."

El heard some muffled screams over the phone, and five seconds later she heard a familiar voice on the line, "Hey El, What's up?" Mike greeted.

"Head hurts," she groaned. Mike laughed.

"Same. I was just about to take Will home anyway, so if you still want to come over I can give you a ride on my bike if you want."

El smiled as butterflies danced around in her stomach. "That sounds great, see you in 15 minutes?"

"15 minutes, I'll be there."

After she hung up the phone, El practically sprinted into the bathroom. 15 minutes didn't give her much time to shower, put on makeup, and pick out an outfit. She knows it's silly, she spent practically 12 years of her life wearing the exact same thing every single day, and didn't even discover what makeup was until less than a year ago. But Mike had that silly effect on her. So much so that she never even left her house anymore without putting light makeup on.

Hopper practically had to reteach her personal hygiene once he found out that she hadn't showered in over a month when he found her, which she could never thank him enough for. The thought of not showering at least once a day made her skin itch.

Once El was ready to go, she slipped on her white converse and headed out the door, practically bumping into Mike and Will on the way out.

"Jesus El. watch where you're going," Will groaned. She watched as he headed towards the hotel room and closed it shut behind him.

Mike gave her a small smile,"Don't mind Zombie Boy, he's just cranky because I woke him up from his afternoon nap."

El giggled, grabbing for Mike's hand. He seemed a little taken back by it, but he gently returned the favor. They walked in silence until they hopped on Mike's bike and started going over to his house.

"I figured you want to stay for dinner, so I told my mom to make lasagna. You still like that right?" Mike asked.  
"If I think that Joyce make's good lasagna, your mom's is going to be really good." El laughed.

"Better than eggos?" Mike questioned.

"Eggos are good, but it's not real food," El responded. Ever since El started eating actual meals, her love for eggos slowly diminished. She still likes them once in a while, but ever since Mike told her they were meant to be a quick snack, she slowly started to agree with him. There were so many better options. Like Mike's mom's lasagna for instance.

As they biked down towards Maple street, El noticed Hopper's old car parked on a side street. A tall blonde man was out on the street talking to a woman and her child, writing down something on a pad of paper.

"Who is that?" El asked, pointing at the man.

"Chief Renyolds," Mike grumbled, his tone suggesting he wasn't too fond of the man. "He just started working here about a month ago after Hopper's old friend Callahan left. Apparently he's from Indianapolis, which is this big city. Now he's here at Hawkins and according to Steve, he takes his job way too seriously. Wrote him a hundred dollar parking ticket for parking in a handicap spot. Like who does that?"

El glared at the man and felt angry. She never really went into town, but she could imagine that Hopper was pretty good at his job. He was kind, caring, and slacked off just the right amount. It angered her that some idiot was tearing down the legacy he worked so hard to build.

"I wouldn't worry about it El," Mike said. "I doubt you'll ever have to talk to him. Plus.." Mike went silent for a second and stared off into the distance. "Nobody is ever going to be Hopper."

El was surprised at the gratitude Mike showed for Hopper. They were never really too fond of each other, and constantly bickered. But ever since that day on July fourth, Mike had always regarded Hopper with utmost respect. El knew he regretted not having a better relationship with the man, as she did as well.

They cruised through the rest of the bike ride, and soon they arrived at Mike's house and walked up to the door. Going up to the front door of anyone's house still weirded El out, as it was something that had previously been off limits. Whenever she had gone to Mike's house in the past(Which wasn't often), they would always enter through the basement in fear his parents might see and question him about her. The thought of having freedom at Mike's house was something that she had only ever dreamed of.

Before Mike could even reach for the handle, the door swung open revealing Nancy.

"What's up doofus," Nancy said biting into her apple. "Hey El! You look so pretty today! Doesn't she Mike?" Pretty is not how El would describe herself right now. Her hair was still wet, tied up in a yellow scrunchie, and her makeup was super rushed. But she couldn't help but to thank Nancy and return the compliment.

"You look great," Mike said awkwardly, though he gave her a smile that practically melted her into a puddle. She reached over and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Get inside before the neighbors start calling the cops on us for PDA, we're lucky it didn't happen the other day." Nancy said.

Mike looked like he wanted to rebuttal, but just rolled his eyes and started leading El into the house. She casually slipped off her shoes at the front door, and caught a quick glimpse of Mike's dad watching TV on the couch before Mike dragged her into the kitchen.

Seated at the Kitchen table was Mike's mother and Jonathan, who looked about as comfortable as the bed El just napped in.

"El's here," Mike announced before trying to drag her down to the basement.

"Micheal, sit down and visit us for a minute," Karen scolded.

Mike groaned, slowly turning back to the kitchen table.

"Hi El," Karen greeted. "So glad you could join us tonight for dinner."

"Thank you for having me, Mrs. Wheeler." El smiled

"Oh please, you can call me Karen honey. Micheal told me you like lasagna, so I hope it's ok that I'm making that tonight."

"I love lasagna, don't worry," El said.

"See?" Mike gave Nancy and his mom a pointed look.

Nancy put her hands up in surrender. "I guess Mike does know best, go figure."

Mike took El's hand again and started to lead her into the basement, "Nice seeing you all, call us when dinners ready," He closed the door and they began to climb down the stairs when El heard Karen call out behind them. "Door open Micheal!"

Mike groaned and went back to open the door about three inches. El could hear Nancy and Jonathan laughing upstairs. When they finally arrived at the basement, Mike turned to her. "Sorry about all that up there, they just like making fun of me I guess."

El gave him a confused look, "They didn't even seem like they were making fun of you. Why are you always so… uncomfortable when we're around parents?" Mike was that way with Hopper whenever they used to hang out in the cabin, and was the same way with Joyce as well. It didn't really make sense to El why them being together around adults made him so weird.

Mike shrugged his shoulders, taking a seat on the couch. "I don't know, don't you feel it too? I always feel like adults judge us whenever we're together. Plus I don't want my mom to embarrass me."

El took a hesitant seat next to him, "Are you embarrassed of me?" she asked.

Mike's eyes lit up," No! Are you kidding me? I could never be embarrassed of you. If anything you should be embarrassed of me."

She gave him a sad look,"I could never be embarrassed of you. Why do you freak out then? Friends don't lie Mike.

Mike sighed, taking her hand. "I honestly don't know El. It's just that this is a new part of my life, having a girlfriend and stuff. It was different with Hopper because he understood our…. situation before. He knew why we were so close and stuff. It just always feels like my parents are judging me, and they're probably going to judge our relationship. But that's something I have to deal with. Just know I'm not never embarrassed of you, ever."

El supposed that answer made sense, but she still didn't really understand why Mike siked himself out so much over little things like that. El would bring it up later again, after dinner. For now though she just wanted to spend some time with him.

"Can we watch a movie or something," she offered, trying to change the subject.

Mike gave her a weak smile, "You read my mind."

After some bickering, they decided to watch _Greece_, one of El's all time favorites. Mike didn't look too happy with the arrangement, but she figured he'd live. Just as they were getting to the good part, Mike's mom called them up for dinner.

As they washed their hands and got ready for dinner, El realised how strange it was that besides Jonathan, it was just her and Mike's entire family. Sure, she was pretty close with Nancy. Her and Karen's relationship seemed to be improving as well. But El had barely said two words to Mike's little sister Holly, and sometimes she forgot Mike even had a father.

Once Karen announced the meal was ready, the kids helped themselves to some lasagna on the table. They all ate in silence, which El was used to from eating with the Byers. But she had to admit that she felt pretty uncomfortable eating with the Wheelers. As far as she was concerned, Mike's father had barely acknowledged she was there.

"So El, do you guys have any plans for Christmas?" Karen asked.

El smiled gratefully at her for breaking the silence, "I'm not sure, Jonathan do you know?"

Jonathan brushed the crumbs off his hands," We don't know yet, we were thinking of maybe seeing a movie? Not the best selection out right now though. Then we might go out to dinner."

"Eating Christmas at a restaurant? I can't allow that to happen. Me and Joyce were talking the other night about you guys having Christmas dinner with us. How would you kids feel about that?"

Jonathan smiled, "We would love to Mrs. Wheeler, I'm sure El would like that too.

El nodded her head ferociously. The thought of spending Christmas all day with the Byers made her feel uncomfortable. She'd never had a real Christmas before, and she didn't like the thought of intruding onto theirs.

"Me and Joyce will have to get that organized then, because our family would love to have you guys." El smiled. She was beginning to really like Mike's mother.

They ate the rest of their meal uninterrupted after that, and soon Mike and El returned to the basement.

"Are you excited for Christmas?" Mike asked her. "It's going to be awesome now with you and Will there."

"So excited," El giggled. "I can't wait to give you your present." El had worked hard over the past few weeks making Mike his Christmas present with Jonathan's help. She hoped he would like it.

"I hope you like yours too," Mike smiled. "It's your first Christmas basically, I have to make it count."

"It's not my FIRST Christmas," El said, rolling her eyes.

"Well it's the first time celebrating Christmas outside the lab, I want you to have a good experience." Mike explained.

"Well what did you get me," She asked innocently.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Mike raised his eyebrows. He reached his hand over to stroke El's cheek, and soon she could feel a fire burning down at the pit of her stomach.

She closed the distance then, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a deep kiss. It was a passionate kiss, eager and full of love. Mike deepened the kiss, pulling her onto the couch with him.

Soon they were in the middle of a full makeout session. El constantly running her hands through Mike's thick head of hair. Mike placing his hands on the small of her back, slowly making circles around her lower back. It was enough to make the blood boil underneath her skin, and she desperately wanted him to move his hands even lower.

Something strange happened next. Instead of taking it a step further, Mike separated himself from her entirely. Breathing heavily, El looked at him with confusion.

"Why did you stop," She asked.

Mike sighed, running his hands through his now messed up hair. "I can't keep doing this El, we need to talk about some stuff."

"Talk about some stuff?" She repeated giving him a weird look.

"About last night I mean, we need to talk about it," Mike answered. "And other stuff too."

Mike had pulled a complete 180 on her and El did not like it. According to the magazines Joyce gifted her, boys almost always wanted more. They were eager to do things with girls, and normally girls had to set the limit themselves. But here Mike was, stopping there kissing to "talk"

"Talk about what?" El asked.

Mike scooted closer to her then, placing his hand within hers. "I'm sorry about last night, I mean. I don't know if I took advantage of you or not, and I'm sorry. You were drunk and I should have respected you more. I just get so excited to try new things with you sometimes and I get carried away. I thought it went really well but then you acted so weird after that and I didn't know if it was because of your powers or-"

"Mike, stop talking," El said, placing a hand over his mouth. She took a deep breath, and supposed it was time to tell him more. "I wasn't mad at you about that. I wasn't really mad at you at all. It's just that we had such a crazy night, and I didn't know what to think." She tried to think about how to word what she wanted to say next. "I didn't like how people knew. I guess I was embarrassed? Between that and my powers I needed time."

Mike looked at her, and she saw a look of relief flash through his eyes, "Thank God! I thought you were going to hate me or something."

"If I hated you why would we be hanging out right now?" she questioned.

"I don't know," he shrugged. It looked like he wanted to say more.

"El, we can't keep doing this." he said, shaking his head.

"What?" her eyes widened.

"The secrets, the lack of communication, the arguments. It's not good for us."

She was taken aback a little by what Mike said. It sounded like he was referring to her when he said those things."

"You think I do that," she looked at him angrily.

"We both do," Mike added quickly. "Like last night for example, you could have just told me how you were feeling. Instead I was worried sick you were going to hate me. Then we end up in silly arguments for no reason."

El had half the mind to punch Mike in the face, if what he was saying didn't make so much sense. She had barely said anything to Mike about why she needed time alone, and it was fair of him to assume the worst. The arguments thing however.

"What do you mean by "silly arguments". She narrowed her eyes.

"Like," Mike was fumbling with his hands. "I know I love you, and I know I can trust you with anything. I hope that you feel the same way. It's just that, I don't want you to get offended whenever I say something wrong. Because at the end of the day that stuff doesn't matter. It's just silly."

She softened, "I love you too Mike, and I do trust you. It's just… hard to trust people when you don't know yourself."

El always feared that Mike was going to lie to her and take advantage of her innocence. It was nothing he did wrong, it was just the way her brain worked at this stage of her life. She had constantly been lied to and cheated to by everyone she met. She almost didn't want to believe Mike would never do that, it felt unreasonable that no one would take advantage of her given her past. Then again, this was Mike. In the amount of time she's known him, he's never let her down. He's only shown her love and kindness, even when no one else would.

"I would never take advantage of you El, and you can always trust me, I promise. Help me teach you, I want you to be able to make your own decisions. You're your own person, and you deserve that much and more."

She sighed, and knew that he was right. If there was one thing El had learned in her bitter 14 years of life, it was that Mike Wheeler would never let her down. "I'll try to Mike, I promise."

"I promise too," he said. "And I haven't been completely honest with you either."

El gave him a confused look. After she just agreed to trust him wholeheartedly, he admits that he was lying to her?

"When you asked about my mom, and why I got so awkward when we're around other people," he explained. "I wasn't telling you the full truth."

She took both his hands in hers and looked into his eyes, letting him know that she was listening.

Mike took a deep breath, "Ever since I was little, I've had this problem. I've been socially awkward for the most part, and talking to people I don't know used to scare me half to death." He looked outside towards the door. "Then I met Will, and I never have gotten so lucky in my life. For the first time I actually had a friend, someone who I could talk to, someone I knew would never make fun of me for being weird. Then I met Lucas and Dustin, and for a while my problem went away."

She was now perched up listening intently, eager for Mike to share more about his past.

"But not completely," He admitted. "Whenever I get in certain situations, my brain freaks out. I start breathing heavily, and I do everything I can to get back into a comfortable place."

"What kind of situations?" El asked. She didn't really understand what Mike was getting onto.

"Like one time in 5th grade, my mom made me dance with this girl my age at a wedding. I was super nervous because I was afraid she was going to think I was weird, or that I was doing something wrong. After that dance, I threw up in the bathroom. I was just under so much stress."

"It was slowly getting better, but I still stayed in my little bubble. I was so afraid of stepping outside my comfort zone." He gave her a weak smile then. "Then November 8th 1983 happened, and I met you."

El remembered the day well. The day she created the gate, and finally realised the lab was not a good place for her. Mike and the others had found her and showed her actual love/friendship, something she would never forget.

"When I saw you, I didn't think about how you would judge me, or if you thought I was weird. Because I saw that you needed even more help than I did. You were different, and you changed me forever. I was the only one willing to help you, and it was almost like I met Will on the playground all over again." Mike chuckled softly, tears slowly dripping down his cheeks. El reached over and helped wipe them away, giving him a look of gratitude.

"I actually could open up to you, and you were so good at listening. I was the only one you would talk to, the only one you really seemed to trust. That gave me so much confidence that I was actually doing something good. I cared about you because I saw myself in you, and I fell in love with you, something I never thought would happen." Mike choked back a sob.

"Then when you disappeared that night, I almost completely broke down. You were the only person I ever connected with on that level, and I thought you could be gone for good. The one thing I felt like I did right, and I messed it up."

"You didn't," El insisted, tears dripping down her own cheeks. She hated seeing Mike sad. "You could never."

"It was the hardest 353 days of my life," Mike admitted. "I didn't think things would ever get better. It felt like you were made for me. Like we were made for each other. God had finally given me a gift and I went and fucked it up" he cried.

"I hadn't gotten much in my life right, El. But I know you and I are meant to be together. When I'm with you, I've had confidence I never thought I ever could have. You make me better El, you make me feel special.  
El started crying then, wrapping Mike up in a hug. What he told her was beautiful, and she understood now why he got so weird sometimes. He felt uncomfortable in his own skin, always feeling like he wasn't good enough, even to his own mother. He trusted a handful of people in the world, and El could relate to that. She might not have problems to the extent Mike does, but she could relate to everything he was saying. He was right, they were made for each other.

She knew after that conversation, after he had opened up to her completely, that he would never take advantage of her. He needed her, and she needed him just the same, maybe more.

"You could never mess anything up Mike," El quivered. "You're so _good_. We were made for each other, and we will always be together."

"Promise?" Mike said softly, practically a whisper.

"Promise," El smiled, pressing her lips into his. She would help him see the good in himself if it was the last thing she ever did.

**Poor Mike :( People don't understand sometimes what growing up in a family with little love can do to you. Sorry for all the angst, but it's necessary for both their character arcs.** **I also lied about the perspective thing, I changed my mind and realised Mike's confession would be more interesting from El's point of view. Next chapter should be coming out in less than a week, so get ready for that. Please leave a comment if you have any feedback/questions/concerns.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, welcome back to another chapter. I don't think I've ever been more dedicated to finishing any sort of writing in my life, and I have everyone who is viewing this story to thank for that. Notes for the story, the Hopper sections are going to start slowing down, It will make sense in a couple chapters I promise. Pretty soon shits about to hit the fan. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

December 25th (Kamchatka Russia)

If Hopper hadn't spent the last few days in almost complete isolation, he wouldn't even think he was a prisoner at this point. For the most part, he had been treated with kindness since he arrived at this Russian lab of sorts. He had been treated to three meals a day, which was quite the shake up from his previous prison experience. They were good meals as well, normally a thick cut of meat and a big chunk of bread.

He had access to his own personal bathroom, so he could shower as often as he wanted to, and go to the bathroom in privacy. Everyday, he found a new set of clothes for him that must have been brought in while he was sleeping, along with numerous other toiletries. The day before he had been brought out of his room to be weight and body tested, along with getting some treatment for his new broken ribs. For some reason the Russians had taken an interest in him, and this scared Hopper more than anything.

It was now his third day at the lab, and Hopper was starting to lose patience. Physically, he had felt better than he had in a long time. But mentally, he was starting to lose his goddamn mind. The Russians told him absolutely nothing of their plans, and every day Hopper spent in isolation was another day away from his home, his family.

He thought about the words the General had told him before he was locked away, "_You will learn soon enough. For now, my guards will show you to your room, we need to get you healthy again._" Well, Hopper feels pretty healthy, so now he thinks it's about time for him to find out what the hell these Russians want with him.

Almost on queue, Jim heard the door open in the front of his room, and the General entered his room. "Chief Jim Hopper," The General gave him a cold smile. "I believe you should follow me, we have much to show you."

Hopper obliged, partly because he wanted to get out of this damn room, and partly because he knew if he stopped following orders he'd have a couple more injuries he'd have to deal with. The General, as always, was accompanied by two guards. Two guards Hopper knew from experience carry night sticks.

The General started to lead him through a part of the lab he had never been before. It was a more restricted area, with a lot more doors that were restricted to anyone that didn't have high authority. The General breezed by all of these doors, and no one even gave Hopper a second look. It really made Hopper wonder what kind of authority the General had, and why he was given so much freedom throughout the prison.

About a million doors and key swipes later, they finally arrived at their destination. It was a bigger room, with a bunch of light up control panels similar to the rest of the lab. But there were also numerous testing tables and lab beakers. Things that made Hopper think back to his days in high school chemistry, which he notoriously failed.

"Please Jim Hopper, have a seat, we have much to discuss," The General told him. He yelled towards one of the lab coat scientists and soon Jim was accompanied by a familiar Russian doctor, the one that put him through the body tests the day before.

"Doctor Kotov here conducted your body tests yesterday, and he has found some rather interesting results."

Hopper gave the man a blank scare. If these men brought him all the way out here to tell him he was physically out of shape, they had another thing coming.

"You see Jim Hopper, we have been conducting tests on this place we like to call "The Other World" for years. Even before the Doorway was opened back in the United States. Our encounters with the Other World had been minimal, until that girl and Dr. Brenner had a breakthrough. Ever since then, the fabric between dimensions has been rather weak. We have conducted numerous tests since then, and now we have seemed to find a way to break into the other dimension quite easily."

The General walked over and picked up what looked like a potted plant, "Since then, we have been trying to find a way to get into the world for ourselves, to see what is really inside. What little footage we have been able to get from our machines hasn't shown much, but creatures from the other world seem to be drawn to ours." He gave Hopper a hollow smile. " We have studied these creatures, and they seem to be something our world has never encountered. Skin thick enough to stop bullets, along with an animalistic instinct that has never before been seen."

"We have been trying to get a group of men into the world, but there's only one problem."

The General went over to go grab another potted plant. This one was all dead and corroded. "The atmosphere in the environment is very toxic. Any sort of Hazmat suit we have created just gets burned through, and every living creature we send in there for a minimal amount of time gets a deadly virus, one that ultimately leads to their death."

The General turned to Hopper now, face full of curiosity. "When we were going over your test results, you seem to have what we had hoped, an immunity to the virus. The toxicians in the Other World are less effective in your home country, so instead of killing you, your trip into the world gives you an immunity to the virus, something we had never seen before."

Hopper was starting to realise why he had been treated so well all of a sudden. These men needed him in a way he sort of understood.

"So what you're telling me is…" Hopper asked.

"We want you to be the first person to venture into the abyss. It will take a long time, perhaps months to get you prepared to do what we need you to do. This wouldn't just be a small trip, you would effectively need to link both portals, the one here, and the one in the states."

Hopper understood now, everything. These men needed him, and that gave him leverage.

"And in return for doing this psychotic journey of yours, I receive….?"

"A second chance at freedom. If you successfully make it to the other side of the portal, my men are ordered to let you go. You will be able to start a new life."

Hopper thought about it long and hard. There was no way in hell he was going to betray his country for the sake of his own freedom. He would be deserting his country, and everyone he cared about. Considering the General never mentioned El or any of the others, he figured they were effectively off the board. Still, if he played nice, and somehow found a way to escape or shut down the Russians plans, he could save everyone. Hopper figured it would be hard, maybe even terrifying, but it gave him hope, something he hadn't had in a long time."

"Well General," Hopper sighed. "I think we have a deal,"

* * *

December 25th (Hawkins Indiana)

"Wake up Mike, it's Christmas," Holly jumped onto Mike, effectively crushing his ribs.

"Holly, jeez! Didn't anyone tell you it's still-" Mike glanced at his wristwatch," -seven in the morning! Let me go back to sleep."

"Oh no Mike," he heard Nancy's voice from the doorway. "If I had to get up at seven, then you're getting up at seven.

Mike groaned, but could feel a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He couldn't be that mad on Christmas, especially not this Christmas. He reluctantly got up from his bed and followed Holly down the stairs to go open presents. Even though it used to be his favorite thing to do growing up, Mike didn't really like opening presents anymore. He was at the stage where he was getting more clothes than toys, and his parents no longer found it that important to make his Christmas special. Now he understood why Nancy used to be so grumpy when she was his age.

"Good morning Mike," Mike's mom smiled, making her signature french toast and bacon.

"Merry Christmas Michael," Mike's dad greeted him with much more enthusiasm than normal.

This was more of the reason Mike liked Christmas so much, everyone was in a good mood. His parents became more tolerable, Nancy didn't make fun of him as much, and Holly was a bundle of joy. It actually made him not hate spending time with them.

"Can we open presents now?" Holly asked.

Mike's mother had just finished putting the french toast on plates and the bacon looked just about done. "Just give me a couple minutes, you guys can get all set up now if you want."

Just like that, the Wheeler family Christmas was underway. Holly, Mike and Nancy all sat under the tree and took turns opening their presents. Mike and Nancy ended up getting a bunch of clothes(which was expected). Holly on the other hand got all sorts of new dolls and toys to play with. Even though it wasn't him playing with them, he had to admit it felt good to see Holly so happy.

While Holly was playing with her new toys, Mike's mom called him and Nancy into the kitchen, handing them each an envelope.

"This is for you guys," Mike's mom smiled. "Merry Christmas!"

Mike and Nancy shared a confused look before opening up their envelopes, revealing $200 each.

"Holy shit!" Mike said.

"Language Michael," his mother scolded, though she was smiling.

"Seriously though mom," Nancy said. "This is a lot of money. You never end up spending this much on us."

Mike's mom shrugged, sipping her coffee," I figured you guys are getting older now, too old for me and your father to know what to get you for Christmas. I figured you guys would want to save up for spring break or something. If you wanted to go visit the Byers or something."

Mike beamed at his mother. She told them she was going to try better to understand, and that's exactly what she's done. It was probably the most thoughtful thing she's done for either of them in years.

Mike tackled her with a hug,"Thank you mom. I love you. Not just because of the money either."

"Yeah mom, thank you." Nancy joined in the hug as well.

"Well, just don't tell your father alright? He wasn't so on board with the idea."

After presents, Mike and his family sat down for breakfast. Mike had to admit, he actually felt excited to sit down and eat with his family. He didn't think it was just that it was Christmas either, his family life as a whole had been so much better lately. He had nothing to hide(except to Dad, though he was oblivious anyway), and his mother finally began to try and understand him and Nancy. Not to mention Mike and El's relationship was at an all time high, so that was definitely improving his mood a little bit.

_El_

Ever since they had that heart-to-heart two days ago, their relationship had never been better. She legitimately understood what was wrong with keeping secrets to him, and since then she had never been more open. Telling Mike exactly when she was upset and why, even if it had to do with him. In turn, Mike had started to learn a lot more about how to be a better boyfriend.

He started to learn that El liked close contact, and got annoyed when he didn't pay attention to her. He understood that she liked to share her opinions herself, and didn't like it when he told the others what she was thinking himself. It never even got annoying to Mike, he liked when she told him how she was feeling.

Most importantly, she seemed to understand when Mike got uncomfortable. She made sure not to kiss him or pester over him in front of their friends. She also made sure whenever adults asked them questions, that she did the talking. This helped Mike start to feel comfortable in his own shoes again, and he felt himself regaining confidence he hadn't had since the start of last summer.

_Too bad she'll be gone in less than two weeks_…

Mike shook that negative thought out of his head. It was Christmas. Christmas wasn't a time to be thinking about deadlines and futures. It was a time to exist only in the moment, which is exactly why Mike loved it so much.

After breakfast, Mike went downstairs to use the phone, announcing it to everyone so they got the hint. He immediately dialed the numbers for the Byers hotel room phone, having already memorized them. After some waiting, a familiar female voice picked up the phone.

"Mike?" El asked

"Hey El, Merry Christmas!" Mike cheered.

"Mike! Christmas is so cool. Joyce bought me a new dress for tonight. Jonathan got a new Camera and Will got some clothes. What did you get?"

"I'll show you when you come over later," Mike laughed, amused at her enthusiasm. "For now I just wanted to call and say Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Mike, I love you!" If it was possible to project his blush through the phone, Mike was pretty sure he just succeeded.

"Love you too! See you later ok?" Mike was just about to put down the phone when he remembered something,"Oh actually El, can you put Will on real quick? I gotta talk to him about something."

"Sure," She answered. Two second later Will picked up the phone with a grunt, "Hello?"

"Hey Will, Merry Christmas!" Mike greeted.

"Gee you're in a good mood. So is the Mage considering the way she just skipped into the bathroom. Getting into any shenanigans over the phone Mike?" Will teased.

"You would think about that," Mike rolled his eyes. " I was actually calling to wish you a Merry Christmas like a good friend. And I actually want to know what time you guys are coming over."

"I think my mom said three." Will responded. "She wanted to help your mom make dinner. That's also plus or minus an hour because we don't know if El's going to drag us out the door or if she's going to take an extra hour to get ready."

"Fair enough," Mike said. "Wish your mom and brother Merry Christmas for me."

"Will do, and by the way Mike," Will started to whisper into the phone. "You better like El's present. Me and Jonathan spent countless hours working on it with her and she's super excited about it, so if your reaction doesn't absolutely blow her socks off, I will personally take Steve's bat and smack you in the face,"

Mike cringed,"I don't think I'm going to have to fake a reaction Will, Thanks for the heads up though."

Mike ended up spending the rest of the morning watching Christmas with Holly and his Dad in the living room. Even though he had seen _Frosty the Snowman _and _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer _about 100 times, it was nice to watch them again with his family. Even if it was with the half he was pretty sure he didn't care less about him.

Before he knew it, he only had about an hour before the Byers arrived, giving Mike just enough time to get ready.

He took a shower and changed out of his PJ's, deciding that was definitely not the thing he was going to wear for the rest of the day. He ultimately decided on a pair of khaki pants and a long-black button down tee shirt he just got for Christmas.

After messing around with his hair a little bit, Mike already heard the doorbell downstairs ringing.

"Mike!" Mike heard his mom yell form downstairs. "Can you get that!"

Mike begrudgingly went downstairs to see who was at the door. Sure enough, he was immediately greeted by Will, Jonathan, Joyce and El. Only when he locked eyes with El, he suddenly forgot how to breathe.

She was wearing a beautiful white dress that left her shoulders and back exposed, and it hung just past her thighs. Her face was lightly touched with makeup(not like she needed it) to help outline her deep brown eyes and thin lips. She looked so natural and yet so perfect it made Mike's heartache.

He quickly got over it though because the Byers were starting to give him weird looks. Mike gave them all warm smiles and gestured inside.

"Merry Christmas Mike," Joyce greeted him with a warm hug. Jonathan and Will both clapped him on the back and El basically broke his back with a bone crushing hug.

"I missed you Mike," She told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Missed you too," He told her."Merry Christmas."

Mike led the Byers into the kitchen, where Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy were going to help Mike's mom make dinner. Will, El and Mike meanwhile retreated downstairs to go hang out.

No one really knew what to do so Mike through in his copy of _A Christmas Story_, and they all just hung out. Mike and Will were trading their favorite Christmas stories with El to get her in the spirit.

"Did Hopper ever celebrate Christmas with you last year?" Will asked. Mike cringed at the question because he already knew the answer.

"Hopper didn't celebrate Christmas," She answered, staring at the ground. "He said it reminded him of bad memories." Mike recalled one time last year where almost exploded on Hopper for not showing El the joys of Christmas. He only found out a few days later from Joyce that Hopper's daughter died around Christmas time, so he never really celebrated it anymore.

Mike squeezed El's hand, "Not everyone has good Christmas experiences, but it's normally a really happy time of the year. You spend it with people you care about and show them how much you appreciate them."

"I know," El snapped, though she looked immediately apologetic. "I'm sorry, it's just that… I wish he was here so we could show him, you know? I still think about the dream."

The dream was a touchy subject for the whole Party. Mike still believed El that she did see some sort of vision, given the spurts of power she's displayed recently. He just didn't want her to get her hopes up. Because if there was even a chance he was still alive, there was no way they could even help him.

"It was hard for me too, when I came back from the Upside Down," Will admitted. "I know it has nothing to do with what you're going through but trama isn't something you need to keep bottled up. If you ever need to talk about it, you can always come to me or Mike."

Mike smiled appreciatively at Will. He never thought that Will liked El, but they've seemed to grow closer since El moved in with them. It was nice knowing he was looking out for her, even though he still had some personal issues himself.

"Christmas is supposed to be a happy time," El told them. "He would want us to be happy. Maybe another time."

Mike wiped the tears away from her eyes and gave her a smile. "He would. Now lets watch Ralphie get his tongue stuck to a pole. He would love this scene."

El laughed and they directed their attention back to the movie. She was right, Christmas was supposed to be a happy time. But if something was bothering her, Mike wanted to know. He wasn't going to push her though, she could talk when she was ready. One thing he's learned from the time he's spent with her is that she didn't like being pushed, at all.

After their movie was over, Mike's entire family along with the Byers ate Christmas dinner in Mike's kitchen. The meal looked and tasted delicious, considering Mike's mom made it. The conversations during the meal however could have gone better. For some reason, Mike's father was acting up today. Mike didn't know whether it was the alcohol or what, but he constantly threw shade at Nancy and Mike like they were some sort of delinquents.

"So, Jonathan told me Nancy got accepted to NYU the other week, that's exciting!" Joyce was telling them.

"Yeah I'm really happy about it, not sure if I'm going there for sure though, we'll see where Jonathan ends up." Nancy said.

"Oh well Jonathan's wanted to go to NYU since he was seven. I thought he was going to have a heart attack while he was opening his acceptance letter," Joyce laughed. Jonathan gave them both weak smiles.

Mike didn't want to admit it, but the idea of Nancy moving to New York upset him. If you asked him three years ago, he probably wouldn't have cared where Nancy was going to college. But with everything that's happened in their lives, Nancy moving away scared him.

"What are you going to study Nancy?" Will asked, joining the conversation.

"Probably journalism, it's definitely the thing I find most interesting," Nancy said, picking at her food. She knew how her father felt about her career choice, and Mike was hoping his father wasn't going to make a scene at Christmas dinner.

Unfortunately though, they weren't that lucky.

"I'm hoping you've thought of a backup plan Nancy, you know how difficult journalism is as a female." Mike cringed at his statement, waiting for the shitstorm that was about to go down.

"I mean it's what I am, Dad, I'm not going to pursue a career I don't like," Nancy narrowed her eyes at Mike's father.

"All I'm saying Nancy, is that you don't see many female journalists around. I would think the career would turn you off considering what happened last summer."

Mike could tell Nancy was trying hard not to get mad, and if this continued any longer there was going to be a major falling out, so Mike decided to direct the attention onto himself. Something he was often good at.

"I mean if she's doing what she likes I don't see why it matters," Mike said. "Don't you enjoy your job Dad?"

Nancy looked at him with wide eyes like he was crazy. Ted Wheeler's eyes suddenly focused on Mike's, and the temperature in the room got much darker.

"Job's are not about enjoyment Michael," he said. "They are about providing money for your family and learning how to deal with people you don't like. Which is why you're going to work sales when you're older. I won't have both my kids become disappointments."  
"Ted," Mike's mom warned. "Thats enough."

Mike's dad grunted and returned to eating his food. The rest of the dinner after that was very awkward, and Mike just tried to finish his food as quickly as possible.

After dinner, Mike exited his house and sat on his back porch. The words his father said at dinner still haunted him. "_I will not have both my kids become disappointments"_

Who was he to say if him or Nancy were disappointments anyway? He knew practically nothing about either of them. The only thing he cared about was the letter grades on their report cards.

Mike didn't want to work sales when he was older. He always wanted to do something cool and interesting, like becoming a physicist or an astronomer. Mike even had dreams of writing novels one day, like Steven King.

Mike was trying so hard not to get too upset he almost didn't notice El sitting down next to him.

"Hi," She said

"Hey," Mike said, not even turning to look at her. She didn't deserve to see him worked up like this.

"Joyce told me it's 'not my place to say,'" El said using air quotes. "But your dad's mean."

"I'm aware," Mike sighed. "Christmas is normally the only day I can stand him. Not anymore though I guess."

"What does it mean to work in sales?" El asked. She seemed genuinely confused.

"It's this really boring job my dad does that involves him wearing really uncomfortable clothes, talking to other mouthbreathers like himself. But you make a lot of money doing it,"

"And you don't want to do that?" El asked.

Mike shook his head, "I want to do something interesting with my life. Like discover new things or bring joy to other people. Me and Nancy both do. Apparently it's a new concept to him or something."

El nodded her head. He could tell she didn't totally understand, but Mike was ok with that. She was too important to him to have her involved in the politics of his family. She suffered too much to get caught up in arguments between Mike and his father.

"I brought your present out with me," El said, showing him her neatly wrapped gift. "Will told me presents cheer people up."

Mike gratefully accepted the gift, neatly unwrapping it. Inside the wrapping paper was a large book, about the size of a notebook, that had his name printed on the front along with a bunch of beautiful drawings.

"Did you draw these yourself?" Mike asked in awe.

"Will helped me learn Now open it! That's not even the best part.

Inside the scrapbook was a bunch of pictures of Mike from his childhood. From kindergarten when it was just him and Will, to 4th grade when it was him, Dustin, Lucas and Will. Pictures of them all at birthday parties, playing D&D in the basement, and even their science fair 1st place pictures.

Each page was decorated with colorful images which El and Will must have designed. Flipping further through the book, there were more pictures. Most of them of Mike and El, which Mike had never seen before. From the snowball in 94', to just last summer. There was some of the entire party as well.

"How… How did you get these?" Mike asked. "I didn't know we had so many pictures together."

"Jonathan takes a lot of pictures," El explained. "He said he doesn't always tell people he's taking them, but promised it isn't creepy. He told me a picture tells you things about people they won't always tell you themselves."

Looking at the images, Mike could see what he meant. So many pictures between Mike and El captured them in the moment, and Mike could see the love they had for one another in the photo. Not just for them either. It seemed that whenever the entire party was together, all of their smiles were just a little bit brighter.

Mike finally saw the last page, where El had written him a note, "_Even if I'm not always with you, just remember how much I care about you. You aren't alone Mike, and you never will be. I love you! -El"_

Mike almost didn't notice the tears that were dripping down his cheeks, which he quickly wiped away. El had put so much thought into his present. Each image was strategically placed, each drawing represented what was on the page. It must have taken her forever to make this, and she did it all for him.

"This is probably the greatest thing I've ever gotten," Mike said, tearing up again. "I don't even know what to say."

El gave him a smile and gave him a hug, which he quickly returned. "No ones ever done something like this for me, I -"

"Shhhh," She put her fingers on his lips. "You don't have to say anything, I understand."

Mike gave her a quick kiss on the lips before standing, helping her up off the porch. "I got something for you too, it's in my room."

He quickly led her up the stairs, eager to get past everyone else so that they didn't see his still tearful face.

When he got up to his room, he quickly went into his closet and revealed his creation for El.

Her face beamed when he showed her, "It's beautiful!"

Ironically, Mike got her something pretty similar to what she gave him. With the help of Nancy, Mike created a giant collage board, complete with a ton of pictures from Mike and his friends.

"I figured you didn't have many pictures of all of us, and I know you always complain about how boring your room is. So I had the guys all collect pictures and I put them on this board. You can hang it in your room or whatever, so then you can always see us. I didn't realise Jonathan had so many pictures otherwise I would have-"

El interrupted Mike with her lips on his, which shut him up pretty quickly. "I love it Mike! It's like the one that Nancy has in her room!"

"Exactly, except it's bigger. You can change out photos or whatever, but we don't have that many yet."

"This is great!" She practically skipped down the stairs to show Joyce and the others her new present, and Mike had to admit his face got pretty red from all the attention.

"Did you cry when she gave you her present? Me and all the guys have this bet going," Will asked.

"Not telling you," Mike responded, which Will snickered too.

The Byers left Mike's house a little bit later, which Mike used as an excuse to go to sleep. As he sat in his bed late at night, Mike was still flipping through his scrapbook, giggling like an idiot.

As Mike was laying there, he heard a muffled noise coming from outside his window. He immediately went over to it and stared into the night, searching for whatever caused the noise. He chalked it up to him just hearing things, and tried to go back to sleep.

**Sorry for this being late, but this is sort of just a filler chapter and it really didn't motivate me to write fast. However I think this chapter is necessary because I needed to show minor character conflicts. Plus, without giving too much away, this is going to be the last time they're all happy for a long time, so the characters deserved a fluffy chapter. I will try and get the next chapter up by this sunday, so look out for that. Please review if you have questions, comments or concerns. Thank You!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello guys. I feel like the last chapter was my first chapter because honestly I made so many mistakes. I rushed it because I wanted to get it done and bring you guys this chapter. I will probably go in and fix them eventually, but for right now I'm just going to leave it. If you got confused by the end of last chapter, all you need to know is that Mike thought he heard a noise outside his window, but didn't see anything when he took a look outside. There will be no Hopper section for the next two chapters, He will return I promise but for now Mike and El are going to be taking the frontline in developing this story. **

December 28th (Hawkins Indiana)

When Mike woke up Thursday morning, a feeling of anxiousness overwhelmed him. He looked at his watch, and the time read **6:15**, meaning Mike had once again underslept. The past few nights, him and the rest of the party had been hanging out late, practically spending every night in Mike's basement(besides El and Max, whom his mom was not cool with staying over).

However, Mike had kicked them all out last night, declaring he needed a good night's sleep for what they were going to do today.

So go fucking figure Mike still wakes up at the crack of dawn, unable to get the sleep he needed to push through the day. "_I'll just take a nap later," _he thought, forcing himself out of bed.

Today was the day the Party had finally constructed their grand scheme to spend a night camping out by the quarry, or so they thought. They still needed to put their sketchy plan to the test, which consisted of a lot of lies, risky ones at that.

The plan would not have been possible if Jonathan and Nancy hadn't had similar intentions to be rebellious. The plan was for Jonathan to take the four boys camping in the local campgrounds, that way they could bring all the supplies they needed without drawing attention to themselves. Nancy was staying the night at "Ally's", and really they were just getting a motel room together. El would be fake staying at Max's, and Max would just straight up just be sneaking out(a part of the plan Mike still wasn't sure about, but Max assured him her parents are clueless.)

In turn, Steve would be driving the group to the quarry, alcohol supplied. This was one minor detail Nancy and Jonathan didn't know about. They thought the group was camping in the local campgrounds, but Mike figured what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

Even though Mike was still angry for waking up so early, he figured it wouldn't be such a bad idea to get a head start on the day, because he had a lot of shit he still needed to do.

As Mike started down the steps, he didn't hear the familiar sound of eggs and bacon cooking on the stove, meaning his mom hadn't woken up yet. It would most likely be hours before anyone got up, considering his father was on holiday and his mom wouldn't have to wake up to cook. This meant Mike could get to work without being disturbed.

First, Mike went downstairs to grab his school backpack and emptied its contents out onto the floor. Next, Mike went upstairs into his garage to collect what he needed. Steve told them they needed some wire cutters to "get to the good part" of the area. This sketched Mike out a little bit, but he figured it didn't hurt to bring them just in case. He also threw his dads hunting knife into the bag, thinking it would come in handy when they were making the fire.

After retrieving the contrabanned items, Mike went to the back of the garage and retrieved his family's tent, which his father already told him he couldn't bring. Mike figured he wouldn't even notice it was missing though, so he had no problem taking it and sneaking it back later.

Mike then went into the house, looking for other things to fill the rest of his backpack up with. He ended up filling a few bottles with water, and dumped a bunch of snacks from the pantry into his bag. Lastly, he stole the lighter his parents use for cigarettes. That was something he didn't intend on taking, but he thought they could use one if Steve didn't pull through.

Mike scribbled out a quick note to his parents, letting them know about his whereabouts, then proceeded to head outside and load the tent onto his bike, which was no easy task. After many failed attempts, Mike finally got the tent loaded onto his bike without it throwing off his balance.

Sighing a breath of relief, Mike looked at his watch, the numbers reading **830**. Sighing a breath of relief, Mike took out his supercom and switched to the appropriate channel.

"Dustin, do you copy?"

For a moment, Mike heard nothing but static. A couple seconds later though, he got a muffled response.

"Yeah I'm here Mike," he heard Dustin's voice on the other end of the receiver. "Did you escape your folks yet? Over."

"Leaving now," Mike answered, looking back at his house. It still didn't look like his parents had woken up. "Meet you at Castle Byers in 10. Call Lucas while your at it, over,"

"Roger that, over and out,"

Mike pedaled hard and fast, taking the all too familiar route down Mirkwood. Mike veered off to the side of the road and started to walk his bike over to Castle Byers.

Nobody had bought Will's childhood home yet, much to Mike's relief. That means the property behind the house is pretty much free for them to use. Castle Byers was pretty much destroyed, but it was a nice meeting spot between all of their houses.

As Mike started to get into the clearing, he already saw Lucas and Dustin waiting for him.

"Well well well, look who it is," Lucas said. "Got the goods?"

Mike dropped his backpack and showed them the wire cutters, along with the lighter and hunting knife.

"Damn Mike, you actually got them," Dustin said in awe. "Are you not scared your Dad's gonna find out?"

"Have you met my Dad?" Mike questioned. "Besided, I don't think he's going to need any of this stuff within the next 24 hours. Did you guys deliver?"

Dustin dropped his backpack and showed Mike a bunch of snacks, along with his tent and a bunch of blankets. "I figured we might need blankets if it gets cold later, you never know,"

"It's like 70 degrees," Lucas said. "I would hope nobody gets cold."

"I like to use blankets when I sleep, so I'm cool with it." Mike shrugged. "Who knows with the girls too."

"True," Lucas said, emptying out his backpack. He had all the materials for smores, his own hunting knife, and of course his trusty write rocket.

"You're really bringing that thing?" Dustin pointed at the wrist rocket.

"We're going out into the middle of the woods alone, I'm not going without some sort of weapon."

"So you're going to shoot rocks at the bad people?" Mike was trying hard not to laugh.

"Um it worked pretty well on Mind Flayer. Not to mention that balloon I popped to save your ass." Lucas pointed out.

"I mean I guess, why the hell not?' Dustin said, putting the wrist rocket into the pile.

"Max told me she's bringing some sleeping bags. She wasn't sure if she had enough for all of us but I'm pretty sure we'll manage." Lucas told them.

"What time is Steve picking us up?" Mike asked Dustin.

"Four. He said we should get a fire going before it gets too dark out." Dustin said.

With the mention of a fire Mike realised they were forgetting one very important detail.

"Guys, we don't have any firewood. How are we supposed to make a fire?" Mike asked.

The look of realisation dawned on Lucas as well. "Shit, I don't know."

"Wait, Why do we need firewood? Can't we just pick up sticks or something?" Dustin questioned.

"That's going to be a weak ass fire," Lucas told him. "We need thick logs, the kind you get from trees."

Mike was trying to think of all the ways they could possibly get firewood, when an idea dawned on him. "You know who always had a shit ton of firewood for zero reason? Hopper. I bet there's still loads down by the cabin."

Dustin and Lucas looked at each other, clearly not comfortable with that proposition. "Isn't that stealing?"

Mike felt appalled, "Stealing from who? It was his cabin, he had no siblings. Meaning the cabin technically belongs to El."

Lucas looked more annoyed than worried, "Mike, that's so far from here. Not to mention firewoods heavy as fuck."

"I'll leave my stuff here," Mike said, dumping the contents of his bag onto the ground. "That way I can carry some back. We don't even need that much of it. Besides, it's not even that far, I used to make the trip every single day."

"We know!" Dustin exasperated. "You were getting to make out with your badass 're grabbing firewood! That's completely different!"

Mike was already getting on his bike, "It'll be fine Dustin, we need to kill some time anyway."

Dustin and Lucas reluctantly hopped on their bikes, following Mike out of the woods. Hopper's cabin wasn't too far away, maybe a 20 minute bike ride. The terrain surrounding the cabin however made the trip way worse. It was hilly, and the roads hadn't been repaired in decades. Mike swore he was in the best shape of his life back when he visited El every day last summer.

20 minutes and some vulgar language later, the boys arrived at Hoppers old cabin. Mike would be lying if he said seeing the cabin again didn't make him a little emotional. It had been El's first real home, a place she could call her own. Seeing it in such bad condition made Mike angry

"Holy shit," Dustin muttered. "The mind flayer really beat this place down huh."

"Lets just say this place doesn't bring up any good memories, for me at least." Lucas glanced at Mike.

Mike sighed, taking a look at the whole place. "I went here once after the 4th, and just being in there made my skin itch. I had to help El collect her things from her room, and she left the place practically sobbing."

"Damn," Duistin said. "Let's get in and out as fast as possible then."

"Lucky for us, we don't need to go in. Firewoods around back." Mike pointed.

Lucas and Dustin followed Mike as he led them towards the shed in the back of Hoppers cabin. Out back there was a stump where Hopper would chop down all of the wood. It was funny, El and Mike would rejoice when Hopper went out back to chop firewood, because it meant they had free reign to do whatever they wanted. Mike smiled at the memory. If only things could be that simple now.

Mike grabbed the key he remembered was in a plant near the back, and opened up the shed door. Sure enough, there was plenty of firewood stacked in the back of the cabin.

"Hold this," Mike gave Lucas his bag, and proceeded to toss some wood out to them both.

"Jesus!" said Dustin. He pointed at the various guns Hopper had stacked in the corner of the cabin.

"Gee, I could never tell Hopper went to Vietnam, think he has enough guns?" Lucas said, poking around.

"El told me most of them don't have ammo," Mike said. "Only the M16 and glock. Plus that shotgun that Nancy took."

"Mike, I have new found respect for you," Dustin proclaimed. "I can't believe you were screwing around with this guy's daughter when he was like 10 feet away from you. He could literally blow your head off."

"Yeah definitely risky," Mike admitted, struggling to lift the firewood. "You guys aren't going to believe me, but El initiated most of the kissing when we were here."

This caused Lucas and Dustin to snicker.

"She was always like, 'Why won't you kiss me mike? He won't care'," Mike laughed thinking about the memories, and how mad Hopper used to get at them.

Mike finally finished digging out the firewood, and managed to fit all the pieces into his backpack. "This is going to be heavy as fuck but I'll manage."

"Yeah you better, because I didn't come all this way for you to pussy out." Dustin said.

Mike rolled his eyes, and led the boys back to the front of the cabin. However, as they were leaving, something laying in the grass caught Mike's eye.

"Hold on a second," Mike said. He quickly went over to the spot in the grass and carefully picked up his newfound discovery.

"What the hell is that?" Lucas said, looking at the black box in Mike's hands.

"It's a polaroid cartridge." Dustin frowned, taking it out of Mike's hands. "I'm going to safely assume Hopper didn't shoot polaroid."

"The only thing Hopper was trying to shoot here was me," Mike said, looking at the cartridge. "Maybe it's Jonathan's?"

"Jonathan doesn't shoot polaroid." Lucas said. "He hates how low quality the pictures are. You guys think it was one of those government cronies?"

Mike was confused. He figured it could have been the government. This would be something they would probably want to take pictures of. But as far he knew, they didn't even know about their fight here with the Mind Flayer, much less this cabin.

"It's not," Dustin answered, studying the cartridge.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"It's not the governments. The government's polaroid cameras are different."

"Different how?" Mike asked. "And how would you even know."

"I got a good look at one back way back when Will disappeared." Dustin said. "The government's Polaroids are the same ones you'd buy at a store. It only takes four batteries. This is something I've never seen before. Like a new model. This thing uses eight batteries."

"Maybe they upgraded?" Lucas suggested.

"I don't think so," Dustin frowned. "Everything about this seems a little…. forign."

Mike's eyes widened at realisation, "You think-"

"No No No," Lucas waved his hands in dismissal. "You are not trying to tell me the Russinas were here."

"I'm just telling you what I think," Dustin through his hands up."This literally isn't an American model! Unless Hoppers war buddy Jose was coming down to take pictures of the property, I don't know what to tell you,"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Mike said. "This could be from months ago, for all we know this could have been here since before Hopper even moved in."

Dustin huffed, clearly not satisfied, "Well are we going to tell the others about this?"

"Hell no!" Lucas practically shouted. "We are not freaking them out over something Mike found in the grass in a place we aren't even supposed to be!"

"Ok, but what about El's dream with the Russian's? This could be important. Maybe they went here for a reason, like they were looking for her." Dustin pointed out.

"I thought you didn't even believe her about that?" Lucas said. "Besides, the government confirmed the Russinas completely disappeared. There still monitoring the town, they would know if something was going on."

Dustin turned to Mike, "What do you think? She's your girlfriend"

Mike had been silent during this entire conversation, trying to soak everything in. As much as he wanted to call Dustin out for bullshit, it was hard to doubt him. He knew more about technology than anyone Mike had ever met. Plus, he doesn't get thrown off easily. If he thought there was even a small chance of El being in danger, Mike was going to listen. That doesn't mean Mike was completely sold on the idea though.

Mike took a deep breath, "Let's say the Russians were here. We don't know they were looking for El. There's no reason for them to even know about her. Maybe they were trying to find information about Hopper or something."

Dustin fired back almost immediately, "Ok, lets say El's entire dream/void experience was 100% real. That means Hopper is a prisoner somewhere in Russia. They wouldn't need information on him, they already have him. If they were here, I'm almost completely sure it would be about El."

Mike hated how much sense he was making. Mike didn't want to admit El could be in danger yet again. He's lost her too many times, he couldn't bear to lose her for good.

"Ok how about this," Lucas said. "We keep the cartridge and show it to the others later, but we don't make a big deal about it. We tell them we found it around Hoppers cabin, not exactly in this spot. That's gonna freak El out."

"I'm not going to lie to her," Mike said. "If we're telling them then I'm telling the truth. I feel like we should wait this out a little bit. Maybe do some research on cameras after we get done camping. I'm not doubting your knowledge Dustin, but it can't hurt to check. Then after the trip, we tell them. I don't want to freak people out for no reason."

"Agreed," Lucas nodded. "Dustin?"

Dustin sighed, obviously not satisfied. "I guess that's fine. But we are not ignoring this. Once this trip is over, we're figuring this shit out. Even if we can't do anything about it I want to know."

"Fine," Mike shook his and Lucas's hand. "Let's get this wood back. It's almost time to meet up with the others. As they rode back to Castle Byers, Mike couldn't ignore the fire growing in the pit of his stomach. Threatening to destroy the thing he worked so hard to build.

* * *

After dropping the wood off at Castle Byers, the boys went over to the hotel to pick up Will and El. They were waiting for them in the front of the building already.

"We couldn't get much," Will admitted. "We just got clothes for ourselves and some blankets from the hotel."

"That's fine," Mike brushed him off. "We pretty much have everything we need. Only problem is that we only have three tents, so we're gonna have to share."

El tugged on his arm, as if asking him a silent question. Mike sighed, knowing he would have to be responsible considering there would be no adults there.

Mike leaned down and whispered, "It's going to have to be you and Max, El. It would just look weird to the others." She looked up at him and gave him a disappointed look. He almost immediately regretted the decision.

Dustin cleared his throat, forcing Mike to look up at the others, realising they were all staring at them.

"Anyway," Mike said, changing the conversation. "We set all of our stuff up at Castle Byers, that way when Steve comes it'll be easy for us to all grab stuff…"

They continued to talk about their plans on their way to Castle Byers, going over everything from backup plans to activities they could do when they got down there.

While they were waiting for Max, the boys decided it would be a good idea to figure out how to set up the tents now, that way they didn't embarrass themselves when they got down there. Lets just say they all figured out pretty quick setting up a tent was a lot harder than it looks. For one, they didn't even realise they needed a hammer, so Dustin had to go grab one out of his garage. Another thing was that it was almost impossible to figure out which side was the front.

After a couple hours of work, they could successfully put up the tents and dismantle them at ease. Even if they were slightly slanted sometimes.

"Where the hell is Max?" Dustin asked. "Steve should be here any minute."

"I don't know!" Lucas said. "She told me she was in the clear this morning, I hope she didn't get caught or something stupid."

Just as they were debating going to her house to get her, a familiar red-head came into the clearing.

"What the hell took you so long?" Will asked. "We were starting to think you weren't going to show."

"Don't get your panties in a twist Byers. My parents sat me down to 'talk'. Something about my grades for this semester, I don't really know. They're going out for my stepdads work party, so they won't even notice I'm gone."

"Cool," Dustin gave her a thumbs up. "Steve will be here any minute, we gotta go get our stuff out by the road."

Since Mike, Dustin, and Lucas had their bags full of stuff, and Max brought the sleeping bags, Will and El had the horrid job of carrying the heavy firewood. Mike felt a little bad for his girlfriend, but she seemed to be handling herself fine, and got a little angry when Mike asked if they wanted to switch jobs.

One long track later, the kids finally arrived along the side of the road, already exhausted.

"Jesus," Mike groaned. "I hope the camping spot isn't that far from where Steve drops us off. If I have to use those wire cutters I'm not going to be happy."

"Where the hell is Steve?" Lucas asked. "He was supposed to pick us 10 minutes ago."

Right on queue, A rusty white van pulled up in front of them, the driver being Steve Harrington.

"Lets go shitheads! We lose light in 40 minutes." He honked the horn for good measure, which Mike found pretty unnecessary.

"Were coming jeez," Dustin mumbled. Everyone helped pile the tents in the trunk, and proceeded to grab spots in the van.

"Where did you get a van?" Mike asked.

Steve gave him a sly smile. "It's my cousins, lucky he's back from college on break. Sorry if it reeks like weed in this car by the way, he's kind of a hippie."

The van did indeed smell like weed, and Mike felt like he was getting second hand just from sitting in there. Steve drove them down a familiar route, going up to the quarry, not stopping at the signs that said: DO NOT TRESPASS.

When he saw the Party's uneasy looks, he waved his hand reassuringly. "Trust me, my friends and I used to go past that all the time. They only say that because they don't want you falling off the edge. As long as you go in the woods behind the cliff your fine."

A couple minutes later, Steve was signaling for them to get out. Sure enough, they were in a secluded clearing away from the company of others, with great scenery and estetic.

"Wow," Max expressed. " I have to say Steve this is,"

"Pretty," El said, looking into the forest.

"I mean I wouldn't call it pretty," Steve scratched behind his head. "But sure I guess."

He went over to the special compartment in the car and offered them two 6 packs of beer.

"I'm not giving you guys too much when I'm not here to watch. Considering you split this it should be enough, but it won't get you drunk."

"Thanks Steve," Dustin bumped his fist.

"Be careful Henderson, I'm not going to be the one to explain to your poor mom I sent you guys on a camping trip with no adult supervision."

"We will be," Lucas assured, leading the party into the woods.

Just as Mike was about to follow, Steve called him over, "Wait up a minute Wheeler."

Mike walked back over to the van, confused as to why Steve would want to talk to him.

Steve dug around in the back of his van, pulling out something wrapped up around a blanket. He pulled the cloth off, revealing the baseball bat with the nails.

"I want you to take this just in case," Just as Mike was about to start debating, Steve put his hand up. "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you."

Steve looked into the forest, "I know I told you guys this place is safe, but ever since what happened with Will a few years ago I've been skeptical of everything in this town. I don't know what could possibly be in these woods, but I want you to take this just in case shit hits the fan."

"But why me?" Mike asked. He was probably the weakest one out of all the kids. He didn;t want to admit it, but even El could maybe take him in a fight.

"Because you know how to lead," Steve told him bluntly. "If something is threatening these kids, I have no doubt you'll be the one to get the job done. Just keep it wrapped up and if something attacks you, well, beat the shit out of it. Just keep them safe ok?"

Mike looked up at Steve, totally flattered. Here was Steve, the guy who won all the kids over with his bravery and loose personality, telling Mike he trusted him to protect everyone if something went wrong. No one ever trusted him with this much responsibility.

"Yeah," Mike said. "Yeah, ok. I can do that."

"Good," Steve patted him on the back. "Now go have fun ok? I don't want to risk breaking the law for nothing."

As Steve and him bid farewell, Mike couldn't help but to smile. Someone was actually trusting him with something important. Granted, Mike wasn't sure what a baseball bat was going to do against any supernatural threat, yet it at least made Mike feel safe.

* * *

El hadn't been this excited to do anything since, well, they were on their way to Hawkins a week before. The idea of sneaking out and lying to their parents scared her at first, yet the more she did it the more she was ok with it. It seemed like not all parents were as overprotective like Hopper, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Regardless, El couldn't wait to spend the entire night with the company of her friends, without adult supervision. She was even more excited when Max proposed the idea for El to switch tents with Lucas at night, so the two couples could be together. El raised her eyebrows suggestively at Max, but Max insisted it wasn't like that. She just said that her and Lucas needed to talk. El could almost guarantee her and Mike will do little talking if they share a tent.

El also kind of needed to talk to Mike about something important. She wanted to continue progressing their relationship. _Physically_ that is. They had this conversation before, and Mike insisted she needed to think about it, because it was a huge step in a relationship. Well, El did think about it, and she was still completely sure they needed to progress it. She wasn't talking about sex neccessarily, she was more talking about them being intimate more. Their relationship had never been better, yet there was this nagging feeling in El's mind that told her it could be going even better.

But she needed to put those thoughts and feelings behind her for right now, because tonight they were hanging out with their friends. Which her and Mike both agreed is something they should do more of.

"I think this is good," Lucas declared, dropping his stuff down.

"Were so close to the road," Max pointed out. "Don't you want to go out farther?"

"Steve said to go where we could see the road," Dusitn said. "This is as far as we can go while still being able to see the road.

Max sighed, "Whatever, me and El call this spot way over here, ok El. Mike and Lucas why don't you guys take that spot?" The two spots Max was referring to were far away enough so no one could hear them, yet close enough so the others didn't think they were up to something.

"Sounds good," Lucas shrugged, "Will are you and Dustin going to be good by the fire then?"

Will shrugged, "More warmth for us."

"Alright cool," Mike clapped his hands together. "Well, why don't you guys set up the tents and I'll go get the fire ready. We're going to lose light in like ten minutes."

"Sure," Dustin nodded. "Will I'm going to help the girls out with their tent, holler if you need any help."

Will nodded, and soon everyone got to work. Somehow they got everything set up just as they lost light. Everyone impressed El on their camping knowledge, yet she couldn't help but to look at Mike with pride. He had somehow built a perfect fire, something Hopper always teased El that Mike would never be able to do. There's nothing El could want more than for him to be here so she could boast.

As they gathered around the fire, Dustin opened packs of beer. It didn't take them long to demolish 12 cans, and soon they were all loose and giddy. It was fun, sitting around the fire with them. Talking about nothing and everything at the same time.

The more they laughed, the more they joked, the later it got. Mike was the first person to bring this up.

"I hate to be that guy, but…." he tapped his wristwatch. "We better get ready for bed. We need to wake up at a reasonable time for Steve in the morning."

"Agreed," Max said, yawning. "Time to hit the hay, ready El?"

El nodded, and after kissing Mike goodnight, went into her respective tent.

"When will we switch?" El asked.

"Give it like 30 minutes," Max shrugged. "I want to gossip with you a little bit. You and Mike seem to be doing well, huh?

El blushed, "Things have gotten really good. No more lies, we tell each other everything."

"That's good," Max nodded, playing with the watch on her wrist.

"How are you and Lucas," El asked, trying to be polite.

Max scowled, letting El know it was a touchy subject. "Lets just say the reason I want him over here tonight isn't to make out with him, he and I need to have a conversation."

"About what?" El asked.

"He's been acting so weird lately," Max sighed. "I used to think I was the one in control, he used to do everything I wanted to. But lately he's been blowing me off, almost like he's been avoiding me. I mean we still talk everyday and stuff, but not like how we used to."

"Are you going to dump his ass?" El asked innocently.

"What? No! I'm over doing that. It was immature for me to do that before. I just want honesty. Like if he thinks this isn't working out, I want him to tell me himself. Sometimes I just think we'd be better off as friends."

"Better off as friends?" El asked.

"Like when two people don't like each other anymore, sometimes it's better if they're just friends. Not all relationships are black and white." Max said, looking at the wall.

"Can I ask you something El?" Max said. El nodded.

"What does it feel like to love someone?"

El was taken aback a little by the question. "What do you mean?"

"Like you and Mike love each other right? What does it feel like?

El thought about it for a long time. She had never shared these feelings with anyone before, much less put them into words. But she figured she'd give it a try.

"When I'm with Mike, he doesn't just make me feel happy, or have fun. Mike makes me _whole_, he's like a part of me. When he's not with me, it's like I'm missing something. Something I need. Does that make sense?"

Max cringed, slowly nodding her head. "If that's how love feels, I don't think I love Lucas."

Before El could even respond, They heard a huge crash and a loud "Fuck!" from outside the tent.

They quickly looked at each other before racing outside, to see what all the commotion was about.

What they found was Lucas himself, flat on his butt and grunting in pain. The others were there too, just looking at Lucas like an idiot.

"Dude, way to be stealthy, holy shit." Mike said with his hands over his head.

"Since when is Lucas the clumsy one," Will laughed.

"I'm not clumsy you jackasses," Lucas said, slowly getting up. "The ground underneath me isn't hard, it was like I slipped."

"Slipped?" Max raised her eyebrows. However Mike was already over to where Lucas fell, investigating the area.

"Guys!" Mike yelled. "Take a look at this."

They all raced over to Mike, where he was feeling the grass beneath him.

"Uh Mike," Dustin asked. "You good buddy?"

"Dustin, feel this," Mike took a clump of grass and handed it over for Dustin to feel. Dustin looked skeptical at first, but now he had an even more confused face on.

"That's not real grass," Dustin narrowed his eyebrows.

"It's like a square," Will pointed out. "If you squint you can barely see it, but there's like a 10 by 10 square sitting there that's a different color.

Sure enough, when El looked over to see what WIll was talking about, she saw the square.

"Why are we freaking out about fake grass?" Max questioned, looking pretty annoyed.

"Don't you think that's a little weird?" Mike asked. "Why is there a random patch of fake grass in the middle of nowhere. That stuffs expensive."

El's leaned over the square, feeling the area between the fake and real grass. Suddenly, she felt separation between the two. Giving the fake grass patch a tiny shove, the patch started to slide. Once the patch was removed, a staircase was revealed. One that resembled Dustin's cellar back home.

"Holy shit!" Dustin yelled. "It's a staircase."

Everyone had shocked expressions on their face. There was no telling what was down there. It could be from Hawkins lab, the Russians, or even some deranged serial killer.

"Stop!" Lucas said, looking at the others. "I know that look."

"What look?" Mike asked.

"You guys can't seriously be thinking of going down there?" Lucas asked. "I say we just put the grass patch back where we found it and continue sleeping."

"I'm not going to be able to sleep with that thing next to me." Mike pointed. "I want to know what's down there."

"Same," Will nodded.

"Lucas, it's not like we can tell someone else to take a look. We're just going to get in trouble for being out here." Dustin told him.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this," Lucas shook his head. "How about I stay up here then. That way if you all get killed I can go get help."

"Gee, how thoughtful," Dustin mummered.

"I'll stay too," Max offered, eager to get some alone time with Lucas. "Well give you guys a half hour to come up, and if you don;t were calling for help." She tossed Mike her Supercom.

"El, you good to go?" Dustin asked.

Even though El thought this was a terrible idea, she couldn't help but to be a little bit curious. They would all be careful. Plus, if Mike was going down there, she was too.

El nodded, "I'm in,"

Lucas shook his head, still not believing that they were doing this. "Half hour guys, that's it. If you don't come back we have to assume the worst and get help."

"Lucas, odds are it's just some abandoned tunnel," Mike rolled his eyes, digging something out of his tent. "Besides, if we see something we don't like, well just leave."

Mike pulled out a large object covered by a cloth she saw Steve give him earlier, removing the cloth to show Steve's old baseball bat.

"You guys ready to go?" Mike asked, holding the bad like it was no big deal.

"No way!" Dustin said in awe. "Did Steve give that to you?'

"Talk about Steve later," Will said, grabbing Mike's hunting knife. "We need to go in there before it gets too late.

As the four bid farewell to Lucas and Max, El would be lying if she didn't get a sinking feeling in her stomach.

**Another Chapter finished. Part two of the quarry adventure should be coming out this week. I can almost guarantee none of you can guess what's going to happen. Give me your best theory's in the comments, because this is the turning point of the story. I'll give you a hint, the polaroid cartridge plays a huge role in this story. By the way, I'm pretty sure what I'm talking about is a cartridge, but if no one understands what I'm saying, it's this black box that goes into a polaroid camera that takes 4 batteries. I improvised the 8 battery part, I don't know if that's really a thing.**


	9. Chapter 9

**This is probably going to be late and I apologize. Some important stuff came up regarding school work(I haven't been doing it). All I'm going to say for this chapter is to brace yourself...**

December 28th (Hawkins Indiana)

As Mike led the way down the staircase, El started to get a really bad feeling about this whole ordeal. For one, El didn't feel comfortable with Mike leading the charge with Steve's baseball bat. She loves Mike, and that's part of the problem. If he leads the charge, then he's the most likely to get hurt. So she made sure she was right behind him, just in case something happens.

The other thing was, what if this tunnel wasn't abandoned? If they stumble upon some rogue government agents, they won't hesitate to gun them down. The entrance was obviously hidden for a reason, whether it was in the past or not.

As the staircase finally leveled out into solid ground, Dustin turned on his Supercom in an attempt to contact the others.

"Doom Patrol has entered evil lair, do you copy Lucas?"

They waited for a response, but all they could hear were muffled sounds on the other end.

"This isn't good," Will said. "Maybe we should turn back."

"I didn't spend 5 minutes walking down those stairs only to go right back up. We're giving it at least ten minutes." Mike declared.

As they walked down the tunnel ahead, Will got out his lighter so they were able to see. The tunnel was pitch black, but from what El could make out, it seemed to resemble some sort of hospital.

Or in her case, it reminded her a lot of Hawkins lab.

She practically lunged over to grab Mike's hand as they made their way down the tunnel, ready to take him and run if they saw something they didn't like.

"This sort of reminds me of that tunnel down in starcourt mall." Dustin said.

Will shared a look with El and Mike, none of them liking what they just heard. "So you think it could be the Russians?"

"I didn't say that," Dustin said defensively. "I'm just saying it sort of reminds me of it. We had to go down this massive tunnel that went on for miles. Hard to imagine people actually making that."

They had to have been going straight for a good ten minutes before reaching a door at the end of the tunnel. Mike gave it a hard pull, and an even harder push, but the door wasn't moving. It was effectively locked.

"Well that's a bummer." Mike said. He tried to sound disappointed, but El could tell he was relieved.

Dustin however, didn't seem so eager to give up. He moved towards the door, reaching his hand on top of the doorframe.

"Aha!" Dusitn said triumphantly, showing them a key in his hands. "My mom used to do that all the time when I was a kid to keep me out of the cellar."

"Dude," Mike said, "Maybe we should just turn back. It's going to take us at least 10 minutes to walk back. Lucas said 30 minutes."

Dustin gave him a dirty look, "Which is exactly why we need to take a look. I didn't waste 15 minutes of my life walking down a dirty tunnel just to turn back."

Before Mike could rebuttal, Dustin put the key into the lock and twisted, successfully opening the door. The rest of the group peered inside the door, finding that it was far too dark to see anything.

"Help me find a lightswitch." Dustin said, as he searched along the walls.

Eventually, El found a switch on the wall and flipped it up, lighting up the rook they were in. Well, room wasn't really the right word for it. It was more like a corridor with a bunch of other hallways connecting it. Desks were lined up against the wall, filled with computers and paperwork. In other words, it didn't look very abandoned to El.

"Shit," Will exclaimed. "I don't think this is abandoned you guys."

"That's what I was afraid of," Mike frowned. "It doesn't look like anyone's home though."

"We need to leave now," El said. "Our 30 minutes are up." She was starting to get a really bad feeling about this place. Something in her gut was telling her this place wasn't safe, and she started to feel nauseous.

"Uh guys," Dustin said, pointing to something on the wall. "What the hell is this?"

The group made their way over to a desk on the far side of the room. Back against the wall were pictures, almost like someone was trying to solve a murder mystery. Pictures on the wall connected with each other, filled with various information and ideas. Only the people weren't murder subjects, they were…

"Us?" Will furrowed his brow in confusion. "I don't understand."

On the wall, there were pictures of every single member of the party and their families. The middle read "Wheeler family", which pictured Mike, Nancy, Karen, Ted, and Mike's little sister Holly. On each side were pictures of the other four, Sinclairs, Hendersons, Byers, and Mayfield. Under Mayfield was a picture of Billy, with a big red X covering up his picture. Pictures of Steve, Robin and El were also pictured, with big question marks over them.

"What in the actual fuck?" Mike said. "I don't understand."

"It gets worse," Dustin said. "Look at this."

Dustin showed them a giant trifold board on the desk in front of them. In the center was the same diagram on the wall, and on each side was a description of each subject.

"Eleven," Mike read, pointing to El's picture in the middle of the board. "Threat level: 10. Capable of killing you on sight. Key to opening up stable Gateway. Location: currently unknown."

That description of her made her uneasy. Like these people thought of her as some sort of weapon or criminal. She didn't know who these people were, or what they wanted. But their intentions couldn't be innocent.

"Chief Jim Hopper" Mike continued to read, wide eyed. "Threat level: 8. Former soldier in Vietnam. Gun capabilities are second to none. Used in operation Red Planet. Captured: Kamchatka Russia."

"He's alive," Will croaked. "El was right."

El's heart was pounding out of her chest. Hopper had somehow survived the explosion down at Starcourt and was now a prisoner in Russia. She wasn't sure what Operation Red Planet was, but it didn't sound good.

"Michael Wheeler," Will read. "Threat Level: 6. Key to finding subject Eleven. Knows information regarding Mind Flayer. If harmed, subject Eleven will not hesitate to kill. Keep distance at all costs. Location: Hawkins, Indiana.

"Ok who are these people, and how do they know so much about us?" Mike asked. El could see him starting to breathe heavily, and she could tell he was on the verge of a panic attack.

"William Byers," Dustin read. "Threat level: 4. Subject has returned from Other World. Valuable asset for drawing out Mind Flayer. Location: Unknown.

Dustin glanced up at Mike, "I'm a threat level 4 too. Do you just get a 6 because your girlfriends a superhero or what?"

El reached over and tried to grab Mike's hand, terrified of the newfound information. Whoever these people are knew impossible information about them. His hand was shaking.

"Quote from Steve Harrington: July 3rd, 1985." Will read. "Commander Kotov asks: 'Who knows we are here?' Steve Harrignton: 'Dustin Henderson.' "

They all turned and looked at Dustin, who was at a loss for words. "Steve told me last Summer that he accidently gave my name to some Russian guards when they interrogated him, but that can't possibly have been from that. Right?"

"Well it looks like from that small quote," Will said. "They were somehow able to find all of us."

"If this is really the Russians though, why are the documents all in English?" Mike asked.

"Maybe as a coverup? I don't know. But the only people who could have gotten that quote was the Russians. How else would they know Hopper was a prisoner in Russia too. It has to be them."

Before EL was able to process this new information, Dustin's supercom crackled to life.

"Dustin!" El heard over the muffed walkie. "Mike!"

Dustin lifted the attnae up and spoke loudly into the Supercom,"Lucas, I know we're late. But you Will not believe what we just found!"

"Dustin, we got a problem. You guys need to get up here right now, over." Lucas said, sounding kind of sad on the walkie.

"Why, what's going on? Over." Dustin asked.

"Were in deep shit dude."

* * *

As they made their way back up the tunnels, Mike still couldn't get over what they had found in that room. They weren't completely sure who those people were, but if Mike was a betting man, he would put all of his money on the Russians. There were still some things he didn't understand fully, but he didn't know who else could have gotten that information.

Once they finally reached the staircase, they knew they were in deep shit. Mike could see flashing red and blue lights coming from above, meaning they had some company.

"Are you fucking serious?" Mike said when he saw the lights.

Dustin cringed, "Were fucked."

It was almost like they were doing the walk of shame back up the staircase, absolutely dreading what awaited them at the top. Mike had half the mind to go back into the tunnels and find a way out from down there, but they couldn't abandon Max and Lucas like that.

When they finally reached the top, they had all three police officers from the town of Hawkins waiting for them, including Chief Renyolds himself.

With a cigar in his mouth and notepad in hand, Mike was about ready to bolt out of the woods that very minute.

"Mike!" Lucas waved over to them from their tents, which were already being dismantled.

"What the hells going on?" Mike asked him.

"What's going on," Chief Reynolds started. "Is that you six are camping on private government property. This area has been blocked off for years, what made you think it was a good idea to go camping in these woods."

"People used to do it all the time last summer." Max stated. "Maybe you didn't get the memo since your so new-"

The chief removed his sunglasses, his dark eyes filled with intimidation. "I'd watch your tone if I were you young lady. I don't know what kind of rodeo that chief of yours was running before, but I'm not going to ignore direct orders from our government."

He puffed the smoke out of his cigar, turning towards Mike. "And just what did you guys think you were doing down in those tunnels. That, again, is private government property. What on earth were you guys thinking?"

Mike took a step back from the chief. One, because he was starting to freak him out. Second, because his breath reeked. "Sir, we came across it by accident. We didn't mean any harm by doing it, but given all the weird shit that happens in this town we figured it wouldn't hurt to take a look."

The two had a silent staredown, and Mike was able to determine that the chief knew what was down in those tunnels. At the very least, he knew who they belonged to.

"Those tunnels belong to the USA government." the chief stated. "What they do in this part is none of our business. It for sure isn't any of your business." The chief poked him in the chest. "Now I'm going to take you six back to the station, and you're going to explain to me on record what you did. Then I'm going to call all of your parents."

The chief gave the signal to wrap everything up, and soon they were being escorted by the two other police officers into squad cars, while carrying their backpacks.

Mike turned to Lucas, unsure how to approach this question. "How on earth did they end up here?"

Lucas shook his head, not meeting his eyes. "They knew, Mike. They came out of the woods and they just knew. Right when we went into the tunnels things went to shit, just like I said."

Mike gave him a dirty look."It wasn't just my idea Lucas! Everyone else had the same idea. These are the risks we take."

Lucas turned to him then, pushing him. "Did you ever maybe think that I didn't want to take those risks Mike? That I didn't want to get caught up in this bullshit anymore? You're supposed to be a leader Mike, people listen to you. Yet you do whatever Dustin and El tell you to, all the time. Man up and make some decisions yourself!"

Lucas stomped away angrily, placing himself in the front seat of the opposite squad car as Mike. Mike didn't understand how Lucas could be so angry, especially at him. The party was a democracy, making all their decisions together. Just because Lucas drew the short end of the stick and their plan didn't work doesn't mean he needs to be such an asshole.

Max and El slid on either side of him in the squad car, ready to take a dreadful drive back to the station. While officer Powell was still outside, Max tapped him on the shoulder.

"It's not your fault Mike, Lucas has been feeling this way for a long time." she said.

Mike furrowed his brow,"What do you mean exactly."

Max sighed, looking out the window. "You could tell he was getting tired of doing all of this. Ever since the 4th, he hasn't been the same. He was always so eager to help before, to deal with all of this bullshit. Now he's just looking to have fun all the time, not really caring about responsibility or me." She was fumbling with her hands.

What Max was saying made sense. He could tell Lucas was a lot less motivated in helping them with the supernatural recently, pushing hard for the party and camping trip. Yet Mike just thought that was part of being a teenager. Nobody wants to deal with the bullshit that goes down in Hawkins, but it was just sort of their responsibility.

"Did you guys talk?" El asked Max. "About… What you told me?"

Max nodded, turning away from them."I told him how I felt, and he started to get really angry at me. Telling me I had no idea what I was talking about, and he just seemed hurt."

Like many other times that night, Mike was very confused."What did you talk to him about?"

He could see tears streaking down Max's face. "I told him that I didn't really want to date anymore. That we would be better off as friends" She sighed. "Then when he asked me if I loved him, I told him no."

She really started balling then, and Mike gave her a pat on the back for reassurance. It was clear from conversations from Lucas that he felt the same way Max did, he probably just didn't expect her to be the one to bring it up.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Mike told her. "He's just being kind of an asshole right now. Lucas will come to his senses eventually, trust me."

The car got silent then, nobody quite knowing what to say. They were all in deep shit for sure. Mike's parents were not going to be happy, at all. But Mike figured they had bigger things to worry about.

"That guy knows about the Russians," Mike told them. "I bet he saw us enter the tunnels, there's no other way he would be here. I doubt he's even on shift right now."

"So you think a Hawkins police chief knows about the Russians Mike? Isn't that a little far fetched." Max questioned.

"Remember Mayor Khline?" Mike brought up. "He literally sold land to them. This is practically the same thing. He's giving them military clearance for the tunnels, and protecting this area at all costs."

"It makes sense," El said. "But wouldn't his partners have to know too? Officer Powell is very…"

"Patriotic?" Max offered.

"Yes," said El. "I do not think him or the other person would be willing."

Before they could further discuss, officer Powell returned to his squad car, effectively shutting down conversation on that topic for now.

It was 3:30 am when they finally returned to the police station and unfortunately, their parents were all waiting for them. Mike's and the others were escorted inside the police station, and were immediately bombarded with questions from their parents.

"I was so worried Dustie!" Claudia Henderson told Dustin, wrapping him up in a tight hug. "Why would you lie to me?"

"Lucas Sinclair!" Mike heard Mrs. Sincalir yelled. "Do you have any idea how worried we were about you? What on earth were you thinking? I can't even imagine the ass whooping you're going to get tonight boy!"

Mike was searching around for his own parents. Thankfully, it only seemed to be his mom. Unlike the other families though, Mike's mom didn't run out and hug him. She just gave him a stern look. That's how he knew he was really in trouble.

"Michael Edward Wheeler." His mom said. "You are in for a world of hurt young man. What were you thinking? You just abuse the freedom we gave you to go and sneak out on some overnight stay with your friends and girlfriend? Without adult supervision? And on top of that you broke the law while doing so. How on earth am I supposed to explain this to your father?"

Mike didn't say anything, he just shrugged. He never dreamed they would have been caught, and now suddenly everything was crashing down. All of his friends were screwed, including him. What if his mom stopped them from seeing El?"

"I messed up." Mike told her. "Nancy used to do this stuff all the time. I don't understand why you're getting so mad at me."

"We didn't get phone calls from the chief of police when Nancy lied to us Mike, that's the difference. I don't understand how you guys could be so stupid."

Mike took a seat next to her then, and didn't say anything. He needed to shut his mouth before he said something he seriously regretted.

He saw El and Will talking to Mrs. Byers in the back of the room, and their discussion seemed to be much more civil. El waved him over from where they were standing, looking like she needed to talk.

"I'm going to see if El is ok." he told his mom.

"Yeah, well enjoy that Mike. It might be the last time you're going to be seeing her for a while." his mom said.

"Yeah, well looks like I'm going to be sneaking out a lot then mom. Because you can't keep me away from her." He snapped back.

Mike went over to El and Will, who looked like they were trying to explain something to Mrs. Byers.

"Hey guys." Mike waved.

"Mike," Mrs. Byers grabbed his hand. "Is it true what you guys saw down there? With the pictures and descriptions?"

Mike took a deep breath, "Unfortunately yeah. They had pictures and descriptions of us all. Where we lived, where we were from. They only didn't know your location. But I'm sure they do now."

Mrs. Byers had a panicked look in her eyes, "I don't trust that chief. He knew all your family's phone numbers, and I'm assuming you didn't give it to them. I only came because Karen called me."

Mike looked down at his feet, "She's not too happy with me right now."

"I can't say I am either," Mrs Byers admitted. "I know you guys are just trying to be normal teenagers, but you can't lie to us like that. Especially given your history. Things will be fine eventually Mike, I'll make sure of it."

Just then, Chief Renolds emerged into the busy waiting room, and immediately went over to Mrs. Byers..

"Joyce Byers," The chief went over to shake her hand. "I've heard a lot about you from this police department. I assume this is your son Will?"

"Uh, yes." Mrs. Byers shifted her weight uncomfortably. "This is Will and my daughter Jane."

"Ah yes." He looked a little too closely at El, and Mike grabbed her hand for reassurance. "Chief Hopper's adopted daughter. I hope you guys stick around for a while. Mrs. Wheeler tells me you guys moved to Illinois. It would be a shame for you to move again, El."

That wasn't good. There was no reason for the chief to call her El. If he had figured out El's real identity, no matter who he worked for, she would be hunted. A girl with superpowers isn't something to be taken lightly.

"Well I know I'll be seeing you guys again," Chief Renyolds winked. "Those three are quite the troublemakers."

He left them, and Mike immediately turned to Mrs. Byers. "This isn't good."

"We need to leave," She said in a panic. "Where not safe here at all. We might not be safe anywhere."

"What?" Will questioned. "Just because one guy is acting a little strange doesn't mean we should just pack it up and go."

"He knows about El, Will. You heard what he said. I don't want those government idiots to be hunting you either." Joyce said, grabbing Will and El by the hands.

Mike felt as if a cold breeze just swept by, filling him with goosebumps. They couldn't really be leaving, right? They were supposed to stay for at least another week. "You guys are leaving?"

"It's the only way Mike, El has been found." Mrs. Byers gave him a sad look. "We can't put her or any of you guys at risk. We might need to leave for good.

Mike had never been so terrified in his life. He couldn't afford to lose El for good, or Will for that matter. But his relationship with Will was different. They could talk to each other over the phone and not miss a beat. They could discuss their favorite movies and comic books and then link up in a few years when they go to college.

His relationship with El was much different. Little things like touch, or just standing next to her was so important. Their relationship was going great, it had never been better. Her moving away for an extended period of time was like a kick in the teeth.

"You can't be serious," Mike said in horror. "We should fight this together, we shouldn't just split up."

Mrs Byers shook her head,"You don't get it Mike, this isn't our fight. It was never our fight. Our own police force is against us, and we have an entire country painting red targets on our backs. Lying low is the only option, they won't bother you guys as long as they can't find her."

As El and Mike made eye contact, he could see the tears beginning to streak her face.

"I gotta go make some calls," Mrs. Byers cleared her throat. "But were going to have to leave almost immediately. Will, why don't you go say bye to your other friends. Give these two a minute?"

Will just glared at his mom and stormed outside, not even bothering to say a word to Mike.

Mike turned towards El, and was barely able to react as she jumped into his arms. She was crying hard, soaking his shirt in tears.

"It's okay El, it's going to be ok," He told her confidently. But on the inside, Mike was shattered. Mrs. Byers had only brought up the prospect of going into hiding a few times before with them, in case anyone found El. If the plan was the same as it was before, there would be no phone calls, there would be no radio communication. He might not be able to see her for a year, or maybe longer.

"No it's not," she sobbed. "We're going to be apart for who knows how long. You're going to meet other people, prettier people."

"I think you lost your mind if you think I would even consider breaking up with you." He told her. "You told me last year El, you promised me that I would never lose you again. This isn't the end, we're going to find a way. Even if it takes me ten years, I will never give up on you."

She took her face out of Mike's shirt, and put her hand on his cheek. "Promise?"

"I promise you with my entire soul, that this is not the end. Even if I have to steal a car and drive to you, I will find a way."

She nodded and stroked his cheek. "I love you Mike, don't ever forget that."

When they kissed, it felt like something otherworldly to Mike. Like they were giving part of their souls to each other. The kiss was a pact, a promise, that even when things change, they will always be together. Mike and El were a team, ride or die.

They broke apart just as Mrs. Byers came back with Will, looking eager. "I just got off the phone with Jonathan and we're going to meet him at the hotel. Were going to head straight back to Illinois to grab the essentials, and then were going to leave. I talked to an old friend and he recommended us a place to stay."

She scribbled a note and pressed it into Mike's hand. It looked like some sort of address, in a place called Clovis, New Mexico.

"Only you and Nancy Mike, and you can only write letters. I'm not giving you the phone line for security reasons."  
Mike's throat went dry. _New Mexico_? That was practically all the way across the country.

"We need to go kids, now." Mrs. Byers said. El and Will had already given the others a hasty goodbye, much to their confusion. Will looked at Mike and sighed. "I guess this is it then."

Mike pulled Will into a hug, much to his surprise. "It's not the end man, I'll see you soon ok." Will nodded, and went outside to enter the car with his mother.

He turned to El, "I don't even think I need to tell you how much I love you, do I?"

She shook her head, tears streaming down her face. Mike pulled her into one last hug. "All this stuff, El. We're going to figure it out. We're going to put an end to it once and for all. You're going to have a happy ending. You're going to see me so much you're going to get sick of me."

"I don't think that's possible," she let out a weak laugh, but Mike didn't stop talking.

"Were going to grow old together, and.. and...get married. We'll have as many kids as you want, how many are you thinking?"

"Three," She cried. "I already picked out names."

"You can tell them to me when we see each other again, that's our motivation." Mike smiled bravely. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," she gave him one last, salty teared kiss, and turned around towards the door to leave. With each step she took, part of Mike's heart shattered.

He knew this wasn't the end, it couldn't be. All he knew for sure was that things were changing, and fast. Two core members of the party could be leaving for good, and Lucas was still mad at him. Mike took a leadership role and failed miserably.

He felt himself going into a dark cave, one that he was already familiar with, but avoided up until this point. He had let his heart take the lead, knowing there were people who loved and cared about him. Only now, those people were so far away. And soon, Mike would be unable to escape the darkness.

**Wow, am I ever sorry for doing that to you guys. Not only did that update take forever, but I can't imagine you're too happy with how that ended. Please don't hate one, I promise you it will be worth it. Feel free to comment and review if you have any questions, I will be responding to them all in my next update.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, welcome back to the story. Hopefully you don't hate me too bad for what I just did, but the controversy was needed to bring all parts of the story together. As promised I will be responding to the comments I have received in the last chapter. I'm going to be doing this from now on, so feel free to comment if you want a direct answer.**

**Luna0603** **= Glad you enjoyed it! As for the separation thing, I don't want to spoil lol.**

**Shrike176** **= Yeah life is unexpected, something I wanted to highlight in this story. I don't want to spoil how long they will be seperated. There will be emphasis on Lucas and Max post breakup for sure, and how it will affect them. I'm slowly nearing the end of online school. When it's over, updates will probably stay the same but the story will be more fluid.**

**Nancythan = thanks, glad you enjoyed it!**

**KentClarkson02 = It will be returning this Chapter! The Quarry thing was a two parter and I kinda finished Hopper for the first part of the story. In this second part he will be getting a lot more emphasis.**

April 28th (Kamchatka Russia) *4 months later

Darkness. That's all Hopper saw in front of him. It didn't matter which direction he looked, how far open his eyes were, or how bright his flashlight was, all Hopper saw was darkness. He could see an entire three feet in front of him, and if it wasn't for the tether attached to his back or the radio hooked up to his helmet, he would be fearing for his life.

"Just a couple more feet," a voice on the other end of the radio stated. "You need to go past the last yellow marker, Jim Hopper."

Hopper grunted, displeased by the direct orders he was given. If there was anything he learned in the past 4 months training in a russian facility though, it was to never ignore an order. Especially from the General himself. If he ever wanted to get out of here, Hopper would need to keep the fighting and keep disorderly conduct to a minimum.

After walking for what felt like years, Hopper found the yellow marker. It was eroded, but he could still make out the plastic stripes. Careful not to lose track of the marker, Hopper walked forward another 20 feet, placing the next yellow marker down. Walking backwards, he managed to retrieve the old yellow marker, and radioed in to the General.

"Placed the new marker, removed the old," Hopper told him.

He heard clapping on the other side of the intercom, "Well done Jim Hopper! We will now be pulling you back in. Don't want you staying out there too long huh?"

Hopper grumbled and turned off his radio transmitter, and began to feel the tethered rope pull slightly at his back. Turning around and holding onto the tether, Hopper began to follow it back towards the base. The base wasn't a far way away, maybe a mile or so from his location, but to Hopper it felt like way longer. He could barely feel himself breathing through his suit, and was in constant fear of getting jumped.

After what felt like an eternity, Hopper found himself in front of a giant cavern wall, with a gash that emitted light covering the surface of it. Slowly checking his surroundings, Hopper stepped forward into the gash, allowing his body to make the transition between worlds.

After ripping through the flesh of the earth, Hopper found himself back in the Russian training facility. He was immediately met with dozens of scientists and soldiers. Some were asking him in depth questions, others were just helping remove his heavy gear. Hopper made his way to the equipment room, where he knew the majority of his equipment would have to come off.

A few soldiers followed him, helping him remove the many parts of his suit. Considering the atmosphere of the Upside down was acidic, Hopper was forced to wear metal suits, in fear it could result in permanent damage to his skin. He supposed he was supposed to look similar to that of an astronaut, but to him he just looked like that damn Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.

"Jim Hopper!" he heard the General's enthusiastic voice screech behind him. "Your mission was a success I see?"

"Yes," Hopper answered, not bothering to get sarcastic with him.

"Good," The general clasped his hands together. "Now while I have you for a moment, we have much to discuss about your mission."

Hopper perked up when the General mentioned the mission. For the majority of these past 4 months, Hopper was kept in the dark about this "mission". All he knew was that he needed to link the portals between Hawkins and Kamchatka, which involved a long journey from here to there through the Upside Down. But all he's done so far was different tests inside the Upside Down from here, and was kept in the dark about any mission details.

"I think we are ready for your mission Jim Hopper, but there will be a slight change in plans." At this, Hopper stiffened, but did not drop his graze from the Generals eyes.

"You will not be going from Kamchatka to Hawkins anymore, instead you will be jumping to another location in the US, something closer."

Hopper knew he shouldn't say anything, but he pounded his fist into the table, staring into the Generals eyes. "That wasn't the deal, the deal was for me to-"

"Ah, but this is not breaking the contracts of our deal," The General smiled. "Instead of making the treacherous journey to Hawkins, we have found another portal location we need you to link with ours. Then you will make your journey to Hawkins and be granted freedom, we did not forget about that. Think of this as a rest stop."

"Ok," Hopper said, trying to wrap his head around that. Another portal location, and close to Hawkins? That couldn't be good.

"We are going to need to fill you in on all you need to know before we send you off, so tomorrow you are going to meet us in the communications tower."

Hopper nodded, and the general turned to leave. Before he could lose the courage, Hopper called out to him. "Where is this new location?"

The General turned around, and gave him an emotionless smile.

"Seattle, Washington."

* * *

April 28th (Hawkins, Indiana)

_Bang!_

The noise of a recently fired gunshot rang through Mike's ears. After weeks of practice, he still hadn't gotten used to the noise.

_Bang!_

Mike fired off another shot into the distance, eager to hit the soda can perched on top of the tree stump. The shot had been closer that time, narrowly missing the can, instead hitting the bottom of the stump.

_Bang!_

Mike's third shot was his best yet, scrapping the top of the tree stump, rattling the can a little bit. "Keep your head down!" Nancy called out from behind him. "Make sure your toes are pointed towards the target. Mike made the necessary adjustments, and held his breath to take one last shot.

_Bang!_

Mike looked ahead, and was happy to see that the can, had indeed, been impaled. It went flying back into the woods. Satisfied at the results, Mike turned around, and was met with Nancy's approving smile.

"Not bad Mike," she admitted. "You've become quite the sharpshooter. Think we should move back farther next time."

"Haha," Mike rolled his eyes. He was currently a hundred feet away from his target. If Mike had to move back even farther, he would need glasses to even see the can.

\ "Anyway," Nancy sighed. "We should leave now or we're going to be late." Nancy held out her hands for Mike to give her the gun.

Mike reluctantly handed her the pistol, knowing she would have to hide it carefully. Out of all the guns Nancy has taught him to shoot these last few months, the revolver had definitely been his favorite. Without practice, you couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with that thing. But if you were good enough, the revolver could be deadly accurate.

Him and Nancy made their way out to the road near the woods, away from their prime shooting spot. Mike had to stifle a yawn as he walked, his morning coffee had not yet kicked in. It had been tradition for him and Nancy these last few months to wake up early once or twice a week to practice shooting. Nancy told Mike it was so he could properly defend himself, but he felt in part she was just trying to distract him. Lord knows he could use a distraction in his life right now.

As they entered the car and made their way to school, the tension filled silence between Nancy and Mike could not have been more noticable. Ever since Christmas break, they shared an understanding their parents wouldn't quite get. Losing El and Jonathan was enough for them to change. Not necessarily for the better, but more out of need. They looked out for each other more, and the teasing stopped mostly. The love and respect they shared for one another had grown to another level.

As they approached Hawkins Highschool, the feeling of dread hit Mike all at once. Let's just say his second semester of highschool wasn't going as well as he had hoped.

"Are you going to be ok today?" Nancy asked him, pulling into a parking spot.

Mike nodded, "Things have been better Nancy, I just keep to myself now."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of Mike," She frowned, placing a hand on his knee. "I get you guys are in a fight, but couldn't you just talk to Lucas and-"

"It's been four monthes Nancy," Mike cut her off. "We've tried to patch things up with him a ton of times. He's not interested and he's moved on. So has everyone else."

"But you haven't," Nancy pursed her lips.

Mike growled, taking his backpack and leaving her. He knew Nancy was just trying to look out for him, but she knew how sensitive the Lucas topic was for him, or even talking about any of his friends for that matter.

Ever since they practically got arrested, things had not been the same for the party, to say the very least. Lucas was mad at them, and it would stay that way forever most likely. Immediately after Winter break, Lucas had joined the track team. He wasn't the most athletic guy in the world by any means, but he worked hard, earning the respect of his peers.

Now, he had new friends and a new life. A new life far better than what Mike or any of the party members could give him. Mike wished he could sense Lucas's distress earlier, instead of crowding the guy for advice like he didn't need any himself. The few times he tried to talk to Lucas, he was shut down immediately. Same thing with Dustin. And as far as Mike knew, him and Max hadn't spoken post breakup at all.

Max….. had some issues of her own to work out. At first she seemed fine, a little bit sad because of the breakup. But as time went on, she got much worse. She gradually avoided Mike and Dustin, eating her lunch alone in the bathroom most days when they got back, and getting herself involved with the wrong crowd didn't help. Between the Lucas breakup and Billy's death, Max was a complete mess. She had been skipping school, smoking cigarettes with kids outside and drinking a lot. Mike wasn't even sure when the last time he talked to Max, it had to be a month at least.

Then there was Dustin, pretty much his last remaining friend that still lived in Hawkins. Dustin and him still had a good relationship, and talked everyday in school when they had classes together. The only issue with Dustin was that he was obsessed with finding answers. He insisted on researching anything and everything about the Russians.

Now, Dustin was pretty smart, and Mike didn't doubt he was on to something. But he was letting this work consume his life. Pretty much all that kids free time(including lunch) was spent in the library, or at the junkyard searching for old radio equipment. It couldn't be healthy for him to do this alone, or even accompanied by Steve Harrignton, yet more often than not Mike opted not to join Dustin. He didn't need any reminders of their past mistakes.

By the time lunch rolled along, Mike was at least partially awake. Since the party had more or less disbanded, Mike opted to eat his lunch outside on the hood of Nancy's car. It was her idea, suggesting eating lunch alone might be less of a social suicide if he was at least outside of the cafateria.

Mike set his lunch down, and reached into his backpack to pull out a letter he received in the mail earlier that morning, no doubt it was from El. It was a habit for them to send at least one letter to each other a week, knowing too many letters would become suspicious, and too little would just be painful for the both of them.

El's letters were normally beautiful and very detailed. You could tell she really put a lot of thought in figuring out what she wanted to say, yet it still sounded like she was the one speaking. Her choppy short pauses were still present, which made them feel way more real to Mike.

Judging from what she's been telling him, the move had been tough on the entire family. It was hard for Joyce to find a job at first, so Jonathan had to take extra shifts at a local diner to keep their family fed and comfortable. After Joyce did find a job, she was barely home. Leaving El by herself most of the day. She went to the local library a lot apparently, but you could tell she was just really lonely the way she was phrasing things

She constantly asked about the other party members, since Mike was the only one with her address and she couldn't ask them himself. Mike told her most of the truth. The fact that Lucas was distant, Max was having a hard time, and Dustin was practically losing his mind. He just didn't get too detailed with it, otherwise she would start to worry more than she had to. She mostly just asked about him. How he was doing, what kind of hobbies he's picked up, how much she's missed him.

It was obviously really nice to get her letters, just knowing that there was someone out there that loved him and cared for him felt really good. Yet the whole thing just felt _hollow_. And a bit sad. Whenever El was telling him something that made her sad, Mike just got angry. He should be there comforting her, not stuck 2,000 miles away. It was the worst situation he could have possibly been put in. He's practically kicking himself for ever complaining about the radio calls. Because they were a hundred percent better than swapping letters once a week.

As for Mike's letters, well, he hoped she realised he was trying. It was really hard to find things that he thought she would want to hear. Hawkins was just Hawkins. His family life had never been worse. And he basically had no friends. There was nothing really ever to tell her other than that he just really loves and misses her. Yet he tried his hardest, finding things to tell her. Giving her book and movie suggestions in order to pass the time.

Wind rippled through the parking lot then, almost blowing the letter right out of Mike's hands. He looked up and saw that there were storm clouds forming above the town, something that wasn't really uncommon considering the weird weather they had been experiencing. Other than the very beginning of December, there had been no snow the entire winter. Which for Hawkins Indiana, was completely unheard of. It had been constant 70's to 80's from January all the way to April. People loved it, but personally Mike found it a bit odd and unnatural. Especially considering all the storms they had been getting these last few weeks. If Mike wasn't so wrapped up in his own problems, he might be more interested in studying the weather phenomenon.

Mike groaned, cleaning up the remainder of his lunch. He had to get back inside before the bell rang. Mike took one last look at El's letter, which today consisted of her telling him of all the new books she had found to read at the library, and sighed. Whoever said distance makes the heart grow farther could suck his dick. Distance sucked

* * *

It was 11:30 at night when Mike heard the first rock hit his window. He figured it was just the storm, blowing all sorts of debris around. Mike had been doing his Geometry homework, which had taken him a lot longer than expected. He opted to ignore the noise, instead plunging back into his work he was so desperate to finish.

But then he heard another rock hit the window. And third. And a fourth. Until Mike just couldn't stand it anymore. He angrily went over to his window to find the source of the loud noises. When he opened it up, he was very surprised to see both Dustin and Steve Harrington outside of his house, desperate to get his attention.

Mike's eyes were asking the obvious question, "_What the hell are you guys doing at my house?" _

Dustin's face looked serious, mouthing the words, "_Code Red." _Followed by a hand motion gesturing towards Mike's backdoor.

Mike groaned, almost not believing that he was really doing this at midnight. But something like this had been pretty common for Dustin in these last few months. He would show up at Mike's house at the weirdest times, proposing the craziest and most outlandish ideas imaginable. From Chief Renyolds being a cyborg to the Russians using pigeons to spy on them, Mike had heard it all these past few months.

Yet, there was something different about the way Dustin was acting. He wasn't his normal, jittery self. Excited to share something he thought could be possible with Mike, while still knowing the idea was way out there. The serious expression on his face told Mike that he might have found something real this time, not just some random idea. That, and the fact he had brought Steve Harrington along with him, looking equally as serious. Steve wouldn't come along unless he was sure it was important.

Mike reluctantly nodded his head, shutting his window. Careful not to wake his parents while sneaking through the house, Mike eventually made his way down to the basement. Once he opened the door for Steve and Dustin, they practically sped into the house, eagerly shutting the door behind them.

"You guys care to explain why you're at my house at 11:30 at night? I swear Dustin if this is another one of your bullshit-"

Dustin cut him off almost immediately, "It isn't Mike, trust me. Me and Steve went somewhere tonight and we may or may not have found something very important."

Dustin gestured to Steve, who rolled his backpack off his shoulders. Reaching inside, he produced a giant, folded piece of paper. The three of them gathered around Mike's old D and D table as Steve began to unfold the paper. Once it was opened up, Mike was a little confused as to what he was looking at.

"It's a map of the world?" Mike narrowed his eyes. "I have no idea what any of this writing means Dustin." The map had a ton of different numbers on it, most of the writing on the US side of the map. Beside the numbers, there were a couple of marked locations on the map, highlighted in red.

"Honestly I don't either Mike," Steve said, scratching his head. "Dustin just about creamed his pants when he saw this thing."

"Wait a second," Mike said. "Where did you find this thing."

Dustin coughed, not meeting Mike's eyes.

"Where did you go?" Mike asked suspiciously.

"I tried to tell you Mike! I tried to tell you I was on to something! You were ignoring me, so I had to go to my next best option." he gestured to Steve, who looked deeply offended that he was considered the second option.

The first few weeks after the quarry incident, Dustin had scouted more areas around Hawkins for more hidden tunnels, and found that there were two more locations. He was careful, not staying in the areas long, and always wearing a mask when he approached. He had tried to convince Mike more than a few times to go take a look with him, but Mike utterly refused. For one, he had been grounded at the time. Also, he didn't feel like finding out what would happen to them if they were caught red handed a second time.

"You went in one of them?" Mike asked.

"The one by Benny's, yeah we did. But we were careful Mike, I swear! We had Robin distract the Chief with a housecall right when we went in, and left right when he figured the whole thing was a scam. I doubt they even noticed we went in there, much less took anything!"

"That was incredibly stupid Dustin." Mike said, absolutely furious. "What if they tailed you back here?"

"We hid out for a while," Steve explained. "Trust me Wheeler, I made sure we had this all planned out. But if Dustin was going to go, I wasn't going to let him go alone."

Mike sighed, putting his hand on his face. "Just tell me what these numbers mean Dustin so I can forget about what you just did."

Dustin carefully turned the map over to himself, pointing at the tiny red marker in the United States. "I'm sure you're both aware of how weird the weathers been recently, right?" Mike and Steve both nodded.

"Well, I don't think this is all some sort of coincidence." Dustin explained. "I haven't for a while. Remember back in December Mike when you wouldn't shut up about the damn weather? I thought you were just being paranoid. But ever since Will and El left, I've been digging."

Dustin dug various notecards out of his pocket, each with a different city on them. One was Chicago, one was Milwakee, etc. "I was able to get my hands on a couple of newspapers from each of these cities. All of them have normal temperatures, normal everything. It's almost like Hawkins is in it's own little bubble. At first I was sure it was some weird aftershock, like closing the Gate had some random effect on the weather. That was until I got this."

Dustin put down the card for Seattle, and their weather matched up perfectly with Hawkins. "Seattle has the same problem we do, only people don't realise it. Seattle is notorious for having weird weather, that place always has some sort of storm or weather issue. But I thought it was too weird for their numbers to match up perfectly with ours."

Mike then looked more closely at the map Steve had laid out, and suddenly understood what Dustin was getting so worked up over. "Seattle is one of the marked locations on that map, isn't it?"

Dustin nodded, gesturing to the map. "It's not just Seattle either. Miami, Florida was marked, New Mexico City, Toronto, some city in Russia. I haven't looked into their weather yet, but I guarantee you the same thing is happening over in those cities as well."

Mike had to admit Dustin was on to something. But he wasn't sure how this all connected. "I don't get what the rest of these markings mean though."

Dustin looked at Mike, and pulled a compass out of his pocket. "I'm not completely sure what it means, but I have a pretty good theory."

"Let's hear it Einstein," Steve yawned in the back. "We don't have all day,"

"Well I'm not expecting either of you to know this, but the base measurement for electromagnetic force is newtons. So I have to assume based on that and the size of the measurement, that they were measuring electromagnetic force,"

He pointed to some random city in Europe, "You could tell they were measuring out the electromagnetic force of a bunch of cities, eager to get a base value. Most cities have the same electromagnetic force, since the electromagnetic force anywhere is dependent on the earth's gravity."

Mike then realised the connection Dustin was trying to make. "So the problem is, if we look at Chicago for example-"

"Their value is completely different from ours, yeah." Dustin finished for him. "Ours is drastically higher, along with the rest of the cities I mentioned previously. That place in Russia, their electromagnetism is off the charts. Way higher than anyone else's. That's not important right now. What is important is why some of them are different."

He put his compass back on the table. "In order to disrupt the magnetic pull of the earth's core, you need a magnet to do so. Or something that generates enough opposite power to reset the compass in that direction. Remember three years ago Mike, when we were searching for Will? Something disrupted the compasses pull."

"The Gate," Mike whispered. "Holy shit, I think I see where you're going with this."

"The Gate?" Steve questioned. "What does that have to do with this."

"The gate disrupted the earth's magnetic pull in the entire town," Dustin explained to Steve. "Electromagnetic fields can change the way the earth intercepts weather from the sun. Hence why it's so warm all of a sudden in Hawkins."

"So you think the Gates opened back up?" Steve asked. "El closed that thing for good I thought.?"

"We would have to check to make sure," Dustin said. "It could still be an after effect. But as for these other places, well…"

"You think they have Gates?" Mike asked.

Dustin sat down, taking a deep breath. He looked into Mike's eyes, and for once Mike could sense the fear in them. Dustin was always so easy going and happy, it wasn't a pretty sight to see him like this.

"My best guess is that these rifts are caused by interdimensional disturbance,"

Mike and Steve both gave him confused looks.

Dustin sighed, "AKA, the world is ripping itself apart. To make room for the Upside Down."

* * *

April 28th(Clovis. New Mexico)

El had never thought that reading could be so much fun. She was currently shacked up in the Clovis public library, ready yet another Nancy Drew mystery. Nancy had once told El that they were her favorites back when she was a kid, and given the similarities between Nancy Wheeler and Nancy Drew, it made sense to El. El never thought she could ever enjoy reading, given her lack of literary skills. But the Nancy Drew mystery series was easy to read, and she learned quite a bit from them as a result. Plus, they were a well needed distraction from her current life.

Life in Clovis, New Mexico was tough at first, due to the fact that Joyce had no plans when they moved there. She had received a small, rented house on the edge of the town from one of her old friends. The man's name was Murray Bauman, someone El thought she would never see again. Since all of his leads went dry in Hawkins, Murray moved away from his old bunker in Chicago. Apparently he wanted to build himself a new reputation in the west, continuing to find out more details regarding the Russians. The house he gave Joyce was compensation for not exposing his former landlord of tax evasion.

At first, Joyce had trouble finding a job. This worried Jonathan, and he took it upon himself to find a job, working as a busboy at the local _Cracker Barrel_. Eventually though, Joyce did find a job. She was a cashier at the local pharmacy now, which provided the family with more than enough money for food and other miscellaneous items. Yet Jonathan still worked long shifts at the restaurant, refusing to take days off. This left El and Will a lot of alone time to themselves, hence why El had been coming to the library so much.

Will had been, for lack of a better word, kind of a dick since they moved. He was very passive aggressive with her, constantly sarcastic comments. Along with this, he outright refused to spend any time with her. If she was home, he was out. If she was out, he was home. He didn't say anything, but El knew he blamed her for them having to move again. She figured he would come around eventually, yet it still made her angry that she couldn't do anything about it.

Today was a Friday, which meant that it was the day Nancy and Mike's letters would come through the mail. In other words, it was the best part of El's week. Mike's letters normally contained next to nothing, as life in Hawkins did not seem to be going well. Yet, El treasured each one dearly, hanging onto every last word he said like it was her life line. He would normally recommend her new books to try out, and El had to make herself a list there were so many. She promised herself she would read every single one of them, even if it took her years.

Even though reading Mike's letters had been great, it just didn't feel like enough. She had gotten spoiled with seeing him every single day during winter break. Now that it was over, and she might never see him again, it filled her with this empty feeling she couldn't quite explain. Almost like a part of her physical being was missing. She missed touching him, feeling him, and kissing him. Yet, what she missed the most was just, the little things. Him telling her about his day, him showing her how to play atari(which she was miserable at), even him farting while they watched a movie, hoping that she wouldn't notice.

You really know you're in love with someone when you're starting to miss them farting.

El had been doing a good job distracting herself, spending almost all of her time at the library. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it normally worked well enough. El hoped Mike had found something to distract himself as well, she couldn't bear it if he was miserable.

Like she mentioned before, today was Friday, meaning Will had to go to the library with El after school. Joyce and Jonothan would both be working late, and Joyce didn't feel comfortable leaving Will and El alone in their new home. She felt more comfortable leaving them in a public place, hiding out in the open. Which El had to admit was pretty smart

Will didn't necessarily seem to mind the arrangement. He normally just brought his art supplies with him, which kept him entertained until Jonathan could pick them up later.

Today in particular, it was quiet, Will and El being two of the only kids in the entire library. The only other person in there was this quiet boy about her age who normally reads comics in the back. She often caught him flat out staring at her, which you can imagine makes her feel a little uncomfortable.

She hadn't been paying much attention to him until he plopped himself down right in the seat across from her, giving El a bright smile, "Hi!"

"Hi?" said El, very confused. This boy had been giving her weird looks for months, and he just now decided it was a good idea to talk to her? El wasn't socially adept by any means, but that seemed a bit weird to her.

While he was sitting down in front of her, she decided to study him a little bit. He had stringy brown hair, which fell all across his face, similar to Will's brother Jonathan. He wore thick, black glasses that covered his bright blue eyes. He must have been similar to El in size, which was about 5'5, and couldn't have weighed much more either. His pale skin was covered in freckles, similar to Mike's.

"So, I guess you're wondering why I'm sitting down in front of you then? Huh?" He asked her, grinning tooth to tooth.

"Um, I guess?" El offered.

"Well my name's Connor, and I just wanted to say that that book you're reading is very good, one of my all time favorites."

El gave Connor a confused look. She supposed he was trying to be nice to her, maybe start up a conversation about one of his favorite books. But the way he was staring at her was giving her the creeps. Almost like he was inspecting her body.

"You like Nancy Drew?" she asked him.

"I'm a huge Nancy Drew fan. She's sort of like the mortal version of Wonder Woman. She never dies and always solves the problem. Plus they're both pretty hot, so that's a nice bonus."

El decided to take a peak over a Will, to see what he thought of this situation. It turns out he was watching the whole thing unfold, snickering behind his most recent drawing. She gave him a threatening glare.  
"So what is this other thing you're reading, is it some sort of letter." Connors hand gently inched towards one of Mike's old letters, one that El had been reading earlier. El aggressively snatched the letter up, bringing it towards her chest. Connor held his hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry, that was rude. I was just wondering what it was. I saw you were reading it really intently and was wondering if it was something good?"

El's expression immediately softened, and she admittedly felt a bit bad. He was probably just lonely and decided to talk to her, as she probably looked bored as well. She gave him a small smile.

"It's a letter from someone special back home." she explained. "I just moved so this is our only way of communicating."

"Oh," Connor nodded. "Like one of your friends?"

"He's a way more than that," she explained. "But yeah."

She couldn't ignore the disappointment present on Connors face after she said that, but he quickly brushed it off and gave her a smile.

"So I know you don't go to school in Clovis, considering I've never seen you. Do you go to private school or something?"

"I'm homeschooled," she cooly explained.

"Ah that's cool. Hey I never did catch your-"

"Connor, I swear to God if you're bothering this girl I'm going to rip you a new one!" A female voice behind El said. El turned around and was met face to face with a pretty girl, around the same age as El. She had beautiful, flowing brown hair, which ran gently past her shoulders. Her skin was pale, but practically spotless. Her piercing blue eyes were covered by a pair of black glasses, similar to the ones Connor was wearing.

"Alice, I wasn't trying to bother her!" Connor put his hands up. "She just seemed bored so I thought I'd introduce myself."

"Introduce yourself?" She looked appalled. "I don't think I've ever heard you introduce yourself to a girl ever." She turned to El. "Sorry if he was bothering you."

"He wasn't," El said, backing up Conner. "I was just reading."

She studied El up and down. "Say, I don't think I've ever seen you before. Are you this pretty, mysterious girl in the library Connor keeps talking about?"

"Alice!" Connor's face turned red. "Why do you always have to embarass me?"

"Uh, I'm your sister? It's my job? Come on dufus, I don't want to wait around any longer for you to get your nerd books. Mom wants us home by dark."

Connor grumbled and left the table to go collect his things. Alice turned to her and gave her a smile. "I'm Alice by the way. Connor may be a complete idiot sometimes but he's a good guy if you give him a chance."

"I'm Jane," El said. "He seems nice I guess."

Connor went past them, and the two said their goodbyes to El, quickly leaving through the front exit.

El watched them leave, and went back to her book. She had finally found the sentence where she had left off when Will came over, trying to suppress a smile.

"What?" she asked him, confused as to what was so funny.

"How did your conversation go with Prince Charming?" Will laughed.

"Huh?"

"Come on El, could you not acknowledge the fact that he was hitting on you?"

"Hitting on me." she repeated. "Like, he thought I was pretty?"

"Oh El," Will shook his head. "You're too innocent for your own good."

"I don't like him though." El stated. "I love Mike."

"It doesn't matter sometimes." Will explained. "You need to get used to guys finding you attractive. And you have to let them down easy. I mean it's weird for me to say this, but you're pretty. Guys are going to hit on you."

El's heart warmed by the statement. Her and Will's relationship had been anything but perfect these past few months, but she's glad he's finally talking to her again. It was obvious to her that Will didn't mean anything by calling her pretty either, he just seemed to be stating a fact.

"Thank you." El smiled. "Did you think that Alice was pretty."

Will snorted. "Yeah, Alice Cooper's pretty. She practically gets hit on by every guy in my class."

"Oh," El tried not to smile. As far as she knew, Will had never called anybody pretty before. It was exciting to see him growing up in that sense.

"Her brother seems kinda cool too, maybe a little bit perverted, but cool." Will added.

"Is he your friend?" El asked.

"Naw not really. But were both probably the biggest losers in the school, so I guess we have that in common." Will shrugged.

El nodded, giving him a smile. Before she could respond, Will went back to drawing, effectively ending the conversation. It wasn't much, but it was a start. Will was practically the only person she had left from her old life, and she didn't want to let him go. Even if it took her years, she wanted to be friends with him again.

Despite her urge to continue the conversation with Will, She picked her book back up and started reading it. Will needed time, which was something she understood. For the time being, El was fine getting lost in the world of Nancy Drew.

**Alright, hopefully I gave you guys a good chapter. This took a while to write as I had to fill in a lot of blanks. Hopefully you understand the basics of what's going on though. More to come in the next few chapters, as things are going to start heating up. I know OC are kindoff stupid, but I'll make sure there good OC's. I kindoff need more people on Will+El's side of the country.**


	11. Chapter 11

No, you are not dreaming. I am actually updating this story. I'm sorry it took me so long, but my exams and end of the school things have been kicking my ass lately. I finally finished all my exams and I am officially a highschool graduate, which frightens me. The good news is my motivation is through the roof for finishing this story! I have most of it plotted out, and I should be finishing this story midsummer. Then I might start a new series before I leave for collage. I want to thank you for those who stuck around, and I promise you it will be worth it.

Luna0603- Glad you have been enjoying the story so much! Things will work themselves out in time, and life may or may not get easier for the party as life goes on.

Shrike176- OC's are annoying but sometimes you need them, but these guys will hopefully be interesting to you guys without taking away the spotlight.

Lucas and Max will have interesting times ahead, especially since they both have issues with Mike they need to address.

Dustin is extremely smart, and I always took him for the more critical thinker, while Mike has always been the Griffin Bing of the group(if anybody gets that reference they're a legend). More of a planner at heart.

KentClarkson02- I don't want to spoil where this story is going but I didn't mention there being a gate in New Mexico for a reason.

April 29th(Kamchatka Russia)

Hopper woke up in the morning feeling surprisingly well, considering the events that transpired yesterday. It was something he had gotten used to, being the Russians labrat and going through their tests. It took a great deal out of him mentally, having to go back in that nightmarish realm almost every day. But it also took a great toll on him physically. There were days when his legs hurt so bad from carrying the weight of his suit, that he could barely walk the next day. It helped him out more or less, considering he was gaining a great deal of muscle back from his original capture. Plus, being the Russians lab rat had its perks

For one, Hopper had a legitimate room within the lab, not just a holding cell. Sure, he was locked inside of the room when he was off duty, but it still made him feel less like a prisoner. His room was equipped with an actual bed, A bathroom that included a shower, and a number of books(they were all in Russian, so the books were practically useless). On top of that, they Russians also kept him relatively well fed. He had three meals a day, which included a lot of protein and carbohydrates, making sure Hopper had energy for his "task".

Today was Saturday though, which meant that it was Hoppers day off. Normally he spent the day catching up on sleep, making sure to catch enough z's before the scientists grabbed him for testing later. This had been his consistent schedule for the better part of 4 months, so the fact that the General wanted to talk about the mission excited him. He wasn't really too sure what the mission entailed, but Hopper knew he needed to get back to Hawkins soon. Even if it killed him, at least he took a chance.

A feeling of anxiousness overwhelmed him then, and he started to pace the room frantically. He hadn't given the mission itself much thought, it was the only way he was going to get himself to do it. By doing the Russians dirty work, he would be betraying his country, something he had never thought of doing in the past. Yet it would also be giving him a chance, a chance to see the people he loves one last time. That's all he was really living for at this point.

Hopper heard the sound of his door open, and immediately turned his attention there. The General made his way through over to Hopper, accompanied by two guards.

"Come with me, Jim Hopper!" The General said. "We have much to discuss."

Hopper, like so many times before, followed the General out of his room. Hopper knew without a doubt that they were going into his least favorite in the entire lab. A place that the General calls the Observatory. It was a little room, surrounded by glass windows, overlooking the portal to the Upside Down. Almost identical to the one him and Joyce were in close to a year ago.

It turns out Hopper was correct, because the General immediately brought him to the Observatory without any pit stops, making Hopper feel all the more uneasy. When they finally entered, the General told him to sit down in a chair, as he himself took the one across from him.

The General yelled something in Russian, and soon a scientist towards the back of the room gave him something that looked awfully like a map. He handed it over to Hopper to study, and if he was being honest, he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to be looking at. It was a map of the world complete with three red dots. One in Russia, one in Seattle, and one in Hawkins.

"This map is to show you where the portals are located," the General explained seriously.

"Oh," Hopper tried to look interested. These people seriously couldn't think he was this stupid, did they?

The General yelled something else in Russian, and soon a different scientist ran forward, handing the General yet another piece of paper.

The General exchanged papers with Hopper, and again, it showed a map of the world. Practically identical to the one he was just given. Accept this one was a lot smaller. At the top, the map was headlined "The Other World".

"Understand?"the General asked.

"You're trying to tell me it's smaller than the real world, right?" Hopper asked. "That's why you had me place those markers down, wasn't it?"

The General nodded, confirming his suspicions. "How do I say this….. The Other World, it is about half the size of our world here. It is the only way your journey will be possible. There are some more details we must discuss, but for now that is what we know."

Hopper nodded, handing him back the map. The Upside Down being smaller than the real world was never something Hopper considered before, but he supposed it made sense. How else had he and Joyce managed to get all the way across town in less than an hour back home in Hawkins?

"Now there is something else we need to discuss." The General gave him a look. "The girl had been spotted about 4 months ago, back in Hawkins. The one they call Eleven."

Hopper gave him a blank stare, but his mind was going haywire in the meantime. El was still alive? Where had she been hiding? How could the Russians know that she was there?

"Once she was spotted however, she immediately left the scene, along with Joyce Byers and her two sons." The General explained.

Of course Joyce was keeping El, it was a prospect he had considered for a long time. Considering they were both labeled as missing. He had half the mind to believe that Wheeler had hidden her in his basement again, but he figured the kids couldn't have been that stupid. Despite receiving this news, Hopper stared at the General with uncertainty.

"Why are you telling me this?" Hopper asked.

The General gave him a cold, hard look. "I just want to remind you of our agreement. Once you have completed our mission, you are free to live the rest of your life as you please. However, if you associate yourself with any of the people we want, we will not hesitate to break our agreement. You will be killed on sight, Jim Hopper."

He kept eye contact with Hopper, as if he was asking him a question. Hopper nodded, knowing how bullshit that agreement was. He was running straight to the others when he got back to Hawkins, it didn't matter if they killed him. But he had to get the General to believe that he wouldn't.

"I promise," Hopper smiled

* * *

April 29th (Hawkins, Indiana)

Beep! Beep!

Mike groaned, rolling around to the otherside of his bed to look at his digital clock. It was exactly 9 am on a Saturday morning, and for some reason Mike had to get up. His dad expressed to him a few months ago that it was unhealthy for Mike to be spending so much time in bed sleeping, so his father gave both Mike and Nancy chores early in the morning to keep them awake. Today they had to go grocery shopping, something that neither of them were very fond of.

Mike quickly showered, and began to get ready, knowing Nancy was going to want to get this over with as quickly as she could. When he went downstairs, she was already waiting for him by the front door.

"No breakfast?" Mike asked. His mom normally made breakfast for the whole family Saturday morning, so it was weird to see her not in the kitchen cooking.

"She had to take Holly to her doctor's appointment." Nancy explained. "And Dad is still sleeping. So no breakfast for us today."

Mike grumbled, following Nancy into the garage and entered the Wheeler station wagon. It was only about a five minute drive to Bradley's Big Buy, so Mike didn't even bother to put on any music.

"Are you okay?" Nancy asked him. Mike was currently staring into the space in front of him, not really looking too excited.

"I didn't get much sleep last night." Mike admitted. It was true, Mike could barely sleep after the talk he had with Dustin and Steve. If Dustin was correct, and the Upside Down was leaking into their world, Mike wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to tell Nancy because he felt like there was no point. They had no idea how to stop this from happening, and more likely than not there was no way to stop it.

"Look Mike," Nancy glanced at him from the drivers seat. "We need to talk sometime today. How about we go shooting after we get done shopping?"

"Talk about what?" Mike asked her.

"I can't tell you now, there's so much I need to explain. It's nothing bad, I just want us to have a discussion." She told him.

Mike tried not to think about what she could be referring to, but as usual his mind spiralled out of control. What if she heard him get up last night? Maybe she overheard their entire conversation? Or worse, maybe Joyce contacted her, telling her they could never come back to Hawkins.

While he was deep in thought, Nancy pulled up to Bradley's Big Buy, telling him to get out and start helping her with the shopping. He supposed grocery shopping wasn't the worst job in the world. It at least gave him the power to pick out what he wanted, which is something he could never do when his mom went for them.

After they were finally done, Nancy drove them home quickly and dropped the groceries off at the house. When she came back, she showed Mike the revolver. Judging by the number of rounds she brought with her, whatever she had to talk about was serious.

One tension filled car ride later, him and Nancy arrived at their prime shooting spot on Mirkwood. Since nobody had bought the Byers house, the area surrounding it normally was deserted. Making it easy for a couple of teenagers to go shooting around there.

Nancy set up a couple of cans on a tree stump, and Mike moved a good distance away from her.

"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about," Mike asked Nancy when she came back.

Nancy sighed, not looking like she really knew how to start the conversation.

"So you know how you and El exchange those letters?" Nancy asked Mike.

"Yeah?" Mike said, taking aim at the can in front of him. "You and Jonathan do too."

"Yeah, exactly." Nancy said, watching Mike shoot the can in front of him with perfect accuracy. "Well recently we've been talking about what the plan was after we both graduate next year."

Mike ran out of bullets, and turned over to Nancy, silently asking her for more.

She took the gun herself, manually loading the bullets into the gun. "So what are the plans next year? Aren't you both going to attend NYU?"

She cringed, then looked up at Mike. "We would probably be ok, to be honest. But Jonothan.. H-he doesn't want to leave his family. He's worried that someone is going to find them, and he'll be halfway across the country, unable to help."

Mike looked at her with sympathy, "I'm sorry Nance, that sucks. What are you going to do then?"

Nancy sighed, she had just finished reloading the gun, but instead of giving back to Mike, she set it down on the ground. "I'm thinking of moving down there Mike, try and get a journalism job."

Mike stared at her, wide-eyed. "I didn't even know that was an option? I thought they needed to stay hidden?"

"Here's the thing," Nancy said, not meeting Mike's eyes. "Mrs. Byers agreed that it would be ok. But if I did this, it would be too risky for me to come back to Hawkins. I would have to leave. I- I probably wouldn't see you for years, Mike."

Mike's eyes were brimmed with tears, and he looked at her angrily. "So you're just going to leave me here in this hellhole? You're going to leave us all just to go down to New Mexico? That's so selfish!"

"Selfish!?" Nancy yelled. "Don't act like you wouldn't do the same thing the first chance you got, Mike. We don't belong here anymore! Mom and Dad don't care about us, and they never have."

"That's not true!" Mike argued. "Mom would be heartbroken if you left us, Nance. Holly would never grow up knowing you. I would miss you!"

Nancy turned away, wiping away the tears from her eyes. "I love him. Mike. I don't want to leave you, that's the last thing I want to do. But Mom and Dad would never let you come with. Losing me is something they can deal with, but losing both of us would break them."

Mike kicked the tree next to him in rage, not believing what Nancy was telling him. As if it wasn't enough for almost all of his friends to leave him, now she was leaving him too.

"Maybe if I go down there I can help them sort everything out." Nancy suggested. "So that we can make it more safe for you and El-"

"It's never going to be safe!" Mike screamed. "Were always going to be in danger! But I'm really glad you and Jonathan are going to be together, Nancy. I'm so happy for you."

Mike ran away from her then, and he could faintly hear her call his name out in the distance. He didn't care, she deserved it. Leaving Hawkins for good was the weakest thing he could ever dream of Nancy doing, especially for someone as strong and brave as her. She was abandoning him and his lousy family, going to New Mexico, and living out Mike's dream. What he wouldn't do to go down to New Mexico and live with El and Will.

Life wasn't fair for Mike, and it never would be. He fell in love with a girl he couldn't be with. He was forever stuck in his lousy family that would just never understand him. The world was being invaded by interdimensional demons, and at this rate Mike would be lucky if he even made it to age sixteen.

He continued to run into the forest, unsure of where he was going, but not really caring either.

* * *

He finally stopped when he hit the road leading up to Maple Street. He was perfectly content with walking all the way back, and sitting in his room, and crying for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, a curly headed boy on the corner of the street had other ideas.

"Mike!" He heard Dustin call out from his front yard. Mike wanted to ignore him, he really did. But after that conversation with Nancy, Mike felt alone. Dustin was practically the only one he had left, and he didn't want to take that for granted.

Mike turned into Dustin's driveway, and ran right into Dustin's arms. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and his entire body had begun to shake. He was having a panic attack at the worst possible time.

"Hey buddy, it's ok." Dustin said, patting his back. Mike finally pulled back from the hug, and started to calm down a little bit.

"What happened?" Dustin asked. It was a valid question, but Mike didn't feel like answering. He just shook his head.

"Cmon, lets go inside. My moms out right now anyway. We can talk in my room." Dustin started to walk into his house, and Mike reluctantly started to follow him. He felt a little embarrassed that Dustin just saw him in such a vulnerable state, but he figured it was only a matter of time before Dustin saw this side of him.

When they finally entered Dustin's house, he gestured to the fridge. "You want anything to eat? We probably don't have much, but…." He shrugged his shoulders.

Mike shook his head, "I'm ok, thank you."

Dustin smiled, "When a party member is in need of assistance, it's our duty to provide that assistance, right? I mean it's not really a party right now, but you get the idea. So do you want to talk about whatever just made our fearless Paladin look like he was taking a math final or what?"

Mike gave him a smile, but it quickly disappeared. He figured Dustin had a right to know about what was making him so upset. So he told Dustin what Nancy had just told him in the woods 20 minutes prior.

Dustin rested his head on the palm of his hand, "That's fucked up. So she's just leaving you guys?"

"Yep," Mike said miserably. "After all we've been through, it looks like this is it."

"I'm sorry Mike, I don't even know what to say." Dustin admitted. "You should talk to her."

"She made it pretty clear she isn't changing her mind," Mike said. "And also pointed out the fact that I can't go with her."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I'm glad you're not leaving." Dustin gave him a weak smile. "I know you would probably rather be there with them, but it's nice to know you're still around."

Mike suddenly felt like a douchebag. It's not like he wanted to leave Hawkins, but there wasn't a lot left there for him anymore.

"I just want things to go back to the way they were before." Mike told him honestly. "I want everyone back in Hawkins so we can all hang out together again. It doesn't help that Lucas and Max totally ditched us either."

Dustin didn't respond for a long time, and instead gestured for Mike to follow him into his room. When Dustin opened up the door, Mike wasn't surprised to see all of the radio tech splattered around his room. Old toys and posters were instead replaced by maps and drawings, things that tied into his Russian investigation.

Dustin led him to the back of his room, digging around in a massive pile behind his bed. When he finally had found what he was looking for, he laid it onto his bed. Mike was surprised to see that it was the Russian Polaroid camera cartridge Dustin and Lucas had found four months ago at Hoppers cabin.

"About a week ago I went to Lucas's house, because I wanted to have a talk." Mike nodded, knowing Dustin had tried to reach out to Lucas a couple of times before, to no avail.

"I wanted to give him back his wrist rocket, and I wanted to formally apologize for what happened that night." Dustin told him. "I told him that we should have listened to him, and that we got too carried away. At first he said he didn't want to hear it, until I showed him this."

Dustin held up the cartridge, "I told Lucas that if he forgave us, that I would smash this thing onto the ground, and we would forget the Russians. I just wanted things to go back to the way they were before." He played with the square box in his hands.

"Lucas told me he forgave us a long time ago, and that he wasn't mad anymore. He just didn't want to get involved with the Upside Down and stuff anymore. I told him that was fine, and that I only wanted him to be our friend again, like the good old days." Dustin started to tear up then, wiping his eyes.

"But he said that things can't go back to the way they were before. He thinks me and you are better off without him, that he's holding us back. I told him that was bullshit, that he only was saying that because his new friends were cooler than us. But he got all defensive, saying that wasn't it."

"I told him that if he really wanted out of the party, he needed to destroy his weapon of power and renounce his membership. But he didn't do it. He just slammed the door in my face and left."

Mike didn't really know what to say about all of this. It sounded like Lucas might miss them as well, but it also seemed like he was avoiding them for a reason. And Mike knew for sure that he didn't think they were holding them back.

"Lucas might be a lost cause right now," Mike told Dustin. "But I know for a fact he would never let us down. He's a party member for life,and he knows it. We need to give him more time."

Dustin nodded, clutching the cartridge in his hands, "I'm sick of all of this Mike. The world could be ending and we're not doing anything about it. Forget Lucas and Nancy, this is up to us now."

Mike shifted his weight, and gave Dustin a confused look."What's up to us? It's that we literally have no idea how to stop any of this."

Dustin smiled then, getting up from his seat. "Sometimes all it takes is another perspective to find the solution, Micheal. Maybe things can't go back to the way they were before, but we can get them pretty damn close."

"What are you talking about?" Mike narrowed his eyes.

Dustin gave him a determined look,"I think it's time to pay our old friend Mad Max a visit."

* * *

April 29th(Clovis. New Mexico)

El, like most other days, was spending her Saturday evening in the library. Considering her and Will didn't have any friends, there wasn't much else to do in Clovis. Since Joyce didn't feel comfortable leaving them alone at home, she normally dropped El and Will off in the downtown district of Clovis. Which included the library, an arcade where Will normally went, and a couple of restaurants.

El was currently sitting in her favorite chair desk in the very back of the library. It was quiet back there, and nobody usually bothered her. She was trying to power through the book she was normally reading in order to get to some of Mike's suggestions, so that she could talk about it in her next letter. She had about ten minutes before Will would be coming back and walking home with her, so she really needed to focus. Unfortunately for her, people had other plans.

"Hey look Conner, it's that girl again!" She heard a voice behind her say.

El turned around to see Alice walking into the library, followed by her brother Conner. Conner gave her a wave, and went straight over to the comic book section, while Alice took a seat next to El.

"It's nice to see you again," Alice greeted. El gave her a small smile in return. She genuinely seemed like a nice person to El. After their conversation the other day, Will sat her down and explained highschool demographics to her in more detail. He said that people like Alice, more often than not, hung out with the popular cliches due to her looks and place of power. He said that she most likely wouldn't give him, or any of their friends back home the time of day in a normal school scenario. But El didn't necessarily think that was the case, and was eager to prove him wrong.

"So do you like, live in the library? I literally haven't seen you anywhere else but here," Alice asked her. It was a genuine question, but El couldn't help but to consider all the information she should be telling her. She figured it wouldn't hurt to at least tell her the partial truth.

"No I don't live in the library." El rolled her eyes. "Me and my family just moved down here. I'm homeschooled."

"That's what Conner was telling me," Alice said. "Your Will Byers sister right? No offense, but you guys look nothing alike."

El bit her lip, "We aren't blood related exactly. My father just died last summer and we were really good friends with their family, so they took me in." It wasn't exactly the whole truth, especially since she had reason to believe Hopper was still alive, somewhere in Russia.

Alice immediately gave her a sad look. "I'm so sorry to hear about that, I didn't mean to pry you for information or anything. I was genuinely just curious since you guys don't act very, uh.."

"Sibling like?" El finished for her. "The last year has been kind of hard for both of us. We had to leave our entire life behind. We haven't seen our friends back home and my boyfriend in months. It's just been hard for us."

Alice put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's ok that you miss your friends now. My and Conner used to live in Texas before our parents divorced. We haven't seen our mom in years. We adjusted eventually, I mean we don't have an overwhelming amount of friends or anything, but we get by."

It was nice to hear from someone who she had at least some similarities with. Even if her reason for moving and everything else that happened in her life were completely different. The only person she had ever organically made a friendship with before was Mike, the rest of the party was just a bonus. It was nice to be bonding with someone under completely different circumstances.

"It's hard," El admitted. "My childhood wasn't very good, and a couple of years ago I met these great people only to have to move away from them. I still have Will, but nothings really the same."

"I don't really know much about Will," Alice admitted. "I see him around school a lot, but I've never actually gotten the chance to talk to him."

"He's just really quiet," El shrugged. "He and I never really talked much back home. But he's been really nice to me ever since I started to live with them. He has his bad days, but for the most part he's really kind."

"I always feel bad for him because he always sits alone at lunch," Alice said. " I would invite him to sit by me and some of the other girls, but they would probably eat him alive."

"Eat him alive?" El gave Alice a confused look.

"You know, girls are mean. They might ask him questions that make him uncomfortable. I figured maybe my brother would sit by him, but he still eats his lunch alone reading comic books in the bathroom. He's really quiet too."

El pretended to understand everything Alice said and gave her a simple nod. Alice then traced the pencil marks on the desk, neither of them knowing what to say next. It was Alice who finally broke the silence, "Jane, if you don't mind me asking, why don't you go to school with Will?"

"I've never actually gone to school before," El shrugged. "Like I said, My childhood was really bad. I wasn't raised very well until My Dad adopted me a few years back. I never really caught up to other kids in school, so I couldn't go this year. Maybe I can go next year."

"That would be fun." Alice said, giving her a smile. "I don't really have a lot of friends, so it would be nice to have someone like you there. Plus, I'm sure you would fit in great! Boys would be all over you."

El was almost repulsed by her statement. Even the idea of being with anyone other than Mike was enough to make her throw up in her mouth. "Like I said before, I have a boyfriend."

"All the way back home in…..

"Indiana," El finished, she was starting to get used to conversing with this girl.

"Indiana?' Alice practically yelled. "That's literally so far away. What if he cheats on you or something."

El narrowed her eyes at the girl, "It's not like that. We write to each other every week. It's way different than how you would expect."

"You talk like you're going to marry this guy someday," Alice chuckled. El met her with a serious glare, confirming her suspicion.

"Damn, you're actually serious." Alice said. "He's got to be a pretty special guy than for you to be that sure."

"He's great," El smiled. "He called me every night for a year, when my Dad was first adopting me. He wasn't letting me communicate with anyone until he had some legal things figured out, and Mike just kept calling. 353 days straight."

Alice gave her a proud look. "That's actually crazy. I wish all guys were like Mike, then. I've dated a couple of guys so far in highschool and they've both been horny assholes. They only want one thing and it's disgusting."

"One thing?" El gave her another confused look.

"Your boyfriend doesn't even pressure you for sex? Where do these people exist and how can I find them!"

Alice laughed then, El joining in after getting over the embarrassment for not understanding her. It was starting to look like El made herself a new friend.

"I'll tell you what Jane, since neither of us have any friends and our brothers are both shy idiots, why don't you guys come hang out with Conner and I later? We have a pool and we can go swimming."

El liked the sound of that a lot. She enjoyed reading, but after a while it got a little lonely. She would just have to convince Joyce and Will to let her go.

"I could ask my mom, that sounds like fun." El smiled gratefully. "I don't know if I even have a swimsuit though."

"Oh, I have plenty," Alice waved her off. "I'll give you one of the less revealing ones since I don't want my brother drooling over you."

El laughed, suddenly very excited to go swim. For a while El had been living the same day over and over again, it was time for a change."

"Sounds like a date." El shrugged.

Wow it's been awhile. Sorry if I'm a little bit rusty, But these last couple of weeks have been hard, I'm not gonna lie. The El chapter was a little bit of filler to expand on these two's relationship and connect the next plot point, where some exciting stuff happens. Look out for another update next weekend, as I will be returning to my normal schedule! Feel free to comment any comments or concerns, I love responding to them. Hope you guys are having an awesome start to your summer, I'll catch you next time!


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Back at it again with another update. Hopefully you didn't have to wait as long for this one, that would be cruel. Hope you are all still enjoying this story, because pretty soon it's going to get a lot more fun to write. We are hitting some large plot points soon. If you guys haven't already figured out, this fic is going to be a lot bigger than 100k words. I'm trying to plan for 150k, but I don't even know if that will be enough.**

**Shrike176 - Glad you're still enjoying the story. I smile everytime I get a comment from you because they are always so in depth. I hope you will be happy with the outcome!**

**Luna0603 - You'll have to wait and see with Alice and Conner. They could prove to be allies or quite the opposite. On a real note though, thank you for commenting so much as well. You make me feel like I'm not just writing to myself, so thank you very much.**

April 29th (Hawkins, Indiana)

After his interrogation with the General, Hopper thought that he should probably call it a day. Unfortunately for him, the Russians had other plans. Hopper instead had to go through one of the hardest workouts of his life, having to hit a punching bag for a countless amount of time, as well as flipping large tires across the training facility. The Russians must have watched Rocky and thought that all Americans should train as boxers, because that is the kind of stuff Hopper has been doing the last couple of months.

After that grueling exercise, Hopper had to strip down to be tested by the russian doctors, one of his least favorite parts of the week. They basically had to ensure he was getting the right amount of nutrients in his body. If he was found to be dehydrated or lacking any major vitamins, they injected him with fluids, normally right in his ass. He hasn't been having many problems with that as of late, but towards the beginning of his training it was a huge pain in the ass, quite literally.

When he was finally done with his appointments, the doctors led him into the observatory, where a soldier was supposed to meet him and drop off the map he was being shown earlier. Only when he was dropped off in the observatory, there wasn't a soldier waiting for him like he thought. Instead, Hopper was completely alone in the locked room. Now normally, Hopper didn't bother snooping through the Russians private information. But the closer Hopper was getting to his mission, the more unsure he was of his original plan. For one, he still wasn't sure how he was going to find anybody back home, especially if they were making him leave Hawkins. So naturally, he decided to take a look through some of the Russians notes on their desks.

The Observatory was one of the only rooms that didn't have a security camera that was watched 24/7. He noticed when he visited the security room a few months earlier that this room was not shown. However, he didn't want to assume there was no camera at all, so it led Hopper to believe it was in a secret location where this room was being watched, only not 24/7. It wasn't a perfect theory, but it was enough for Hopper to gather up the courage to snoop around in this room.

And boy, what he found did not disappoint him at all.

He first noticed the sheet of paper because it had Mike Wheeler's pointy shaped head on it, which was enough to peak his interest. Turns out what Hopper had found was a complete chart listing of everyone in his group back in Hawkins, including the kids. Before he had time to look at it thoroughly, the door opened up behind him and Hopper had to shove the paper down his pants.

Luckily for him, some clueless doctor was sent to give him the map, instead of the soldier. Hopper thanked the man, and followed him out of the observatory and into his own room. Once he was left alone, Hopper quickly went into his bathroom to examine what he had just found, knowing his room did have security cameras in it(although he hoped the bathroom didn't if the Russians had any decency).

The chart was almost entirely in Russian, but Hopper was smart enough to realise that it was somehow based on threat level, or something of that matter. El was listed as first on the list, with a bunch of warnings attached. Next to her name was something Hopper could only assume was the Russians trying to pinpoint her location. It was a drawing of the United States, with the entire west side of the country circled, indicating she was somewhere west. The same drawing was used for Joyce, Will and Jonathan as well. Mike and the others looked to still be in Hawkins.

He knew he was going to have to return the paper before he got caught, but first he was going to copy down all of the information he learned in his journal, which he found the Russians had stopped keeping tabs on. He wasn't sure what a lot of the information meant, but he was sure that some of it was important. He would work on translating it later.

Once he had successfully copied all the information down , he hid the sheet of paper inside of a random book he found on his shelf. Returning it might be a little difficult, but he would try his hardest to. If the Russians didn't notice anything was missing, he would be in the clear.

For once, Hopper felt like he had some leverage. He knew that El and Joyce were on the west side of the United States, so linking up with them was still very possible. Once he was back in the states, that would be his plan. They could go from there, and take the Russians out once and for all.

* * *

April 29th (Hawkins, Indiana)

"Dustin, I really don't think this is a good idea."

Mike and Dustin were currently walking up to Max's house, which Mike thought was a bad idea for a number of reasons. For one, they hadn't talked to Max in weeks. When she first stopped talking to them, Mike just assumed she needed time and space to get over her breakup with Lucas, but it became clear after a long amount of time that her problems stemmed further than that.

She cut them off almost completely, and if Mike was being honest, he hadn't even seen Max in school for a long time. The only time he ever sees her is down by the skatepark after school, where he sees her sharing cigarettes with kids that couldn't been that great of an influence on her.

If Mike was being honest, he felt kindoff bad. Max had never been his favorite person in the world by any means, but she didn't deserve to get abandoned by the only friends she had. Dustin and him didn't make enough of an effort to keep her in the loop, which was their own fault.

But as for the other reason Mike didn't want to walk up to Max's house, it had been a well known fact for a long time that Neil Hargrove had completely lost his mind. After Billy's death, Neil had two functions according to Max. Going to work, and drinking beer. Which, as stated by her, was not a pretty sight.. It was why Max often risked her ass getting caught just to sleepover at Mike's house with the others.

Though Mike knew their only chance of saving their universe from destruction was to have all members of their team there to help. Whether he liked it or not, Max was part of that team.

"So what's the plan here if Max doesn't answer the door?" Mike asked Dustin.

Dustin bit his bottom lip, "We ask for her, if they say she's not around, we ask them to tell her we stopped by."

"Yeah but what if Neil answers the door."

Dustin shook his head, "Mike, you need to stop worrying. I know we haven't talked to Max in a long time, but it's well over do. She'll be expecting us to some degree. And don't worry about Neil, he's just some sad, drunk man who I'm sure we'll be able to outrun,"

Before Mike could protest, Dustin aggressively knocked on the door. Mike could barely help himself from shaking when he heard footsteps approaching the front door. Luckily for them, Max was the one who ultimately opened the door. She looked different than the last time Mike saw her, with her ponytail hanging high on her head, and a few loose strands of hair covering her face. She looked older, less reactive and a lot more mature, something Mike couldn't relate to.

To say that she was shocked to see them was an understatement.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Max asked, narrowing her eyes. One thing hadn't changed in Max, and it was that she had the ability to scare the shit out of them at will.

"We came to talk," Dustin started. "Look, I know we haven't been talking much these last few months, but-"

Dustin didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence before Max shoved the door in his face, effectively ending the conversation. Dustin turned around towards him and shook his head.

"She's not going to listen to me Mike, you're going to need to talk to her."

"What, are you crazy? She hates me!" Mike narrowed his eyes.

"Which is exactly why you need to be the one to apologize. As much as you don't want to hear it Mike, she really values your opinion. She's pretty much Mike Wheeler with red hair."

As much as Mike wanted to argue, he had to admit Dustin had a point. El used to tell him all the time how similar him and Max were. That didn't mean Max was going to listen to him though, and he was hesitant to try.

"Is this really necessary Dustin?" Mike asked. "What could Max possibly know that we don't anyways?"

"Number one rule when trying to do anything in life Micheal, always get a second perspective. Me and you think way too logical, Max might be able to give us a different answer. Plus, you said you wanted things to go back to normal, this is the first step."

Mike sighed and took a brave step forward, knocking on the door in front of him.

"Go away!" he heard a muffled voice on the other side of the door.

"Max it's me, Mike." He said. "Me and Dustin just wanted to talk to you. We haven't spoken in so long and that's our fault. We need your help."

This time, Max opened the door. She studied Mike carefully, as if searching for any hesitancy in his face. Mike held his ground though, looking right back at Max.

"What could you two 'geniuses' possibly need my help for." Max asked. "I'm just a dumb old zoomer, remember?"

"We'll show you in a minute," Mike explained. "Can we come inside?"

Max pursed her lips, and rolled her eyes. "You literally have five minutes before I kick you out, are we clear?"

"Crystal," Mike grinned.

Max groaned and opened up the door, gesturing for Mike and Dustin to follow her inside.

Dustin shrugged and followed Max in, Mike following closely behind. Mike had only been inside the Hargrove house a few times before, and there wasn't much to it. It was just a normal one-story home with three bedrooms and one bathroom. In fact, Mike was willing to bet Hoppers hunting cabin rivaled it in size.

It didn't look like anyone was home though as Max led them into her bedroom. Her bedroom was relatively the same as the last time Mike saw it, with different posters of movie stars covering the walls. She still had her skateboard on the floor and a whole stack of comics on her bed, as if she had been sifting through them before they arrived.

Max closed the door behind them, and immediately turned to them. "Well, what gives? I haven't heard from you guys in months almost, and all of a sudden you come to my house, asking for my help?"

"We're sorry," Mike apologized. "To be fair you didn't seem like you wanted anything to do with us ever since the camping incident. We practically had to beg you to eat lunch with us, and then you just started ditching. I don't know what you want us to do about that."

Max looked like she wanted to start shouting at Mike, but instead she sat down on her bed, letting out a loud sigh. "I was going through a lot," Max admitted.

"Yeah, well so were we," Dustin complained. "You just left us. You think Mike wasn't going through a tough time? You think that we weren't all affected by what had happened?"

"No, you guys don't understand," Max shook her head. "After the camping incident, Neil totally lost it. He started calling me horrible names, like skank and hoar. He would constantly throw beer bottles at me and my mom when he got upset. It got so bad that my mom had to call the police on him a few nights ago."

Mike's heart immediately sank. He knew there was something going on with Max, but he just assumed that it was because of her breakup with Lucas. He hadn't had a clue things were so bad with Max's family.

"Oh man," Mike shook his head. "Were sorry Max, we had no idea."

She shrugged. "I didn't want to tell you guys. After everything that happened I thought we all needed space. Not that much space though. I got mixed up with some bad people, and did some things I will definitely regret later, but I also feel like I learned a lot."

Dustin shifted his weight uncomfortably. "So if you're not mad at us, why did you get so angry at us for showing up at your house?"

She scowled, "Because, doofus. I wasn't ready for us to start talking again. There's still a lot of stuff I need to figure out with my family before I want things to go back to normal. Now, what was it you guys wanted to talk to me about?"

Dustin and Mike exchanged looks, "You might want to sit back, because this is anything but normal."

* * *

After Dustin finished explaining everything they had learned to Max, her brow furrowed in confusion. "So is the gate here still open?"

"We don't really know yet," Dustin explained. "Considering we discovered an entire Russian tunnel system, I would assume so."

Max started twiddling her thumbs, "I don't know what you guys want me to say, that all sounds really fucked, but I'm not sure what we can do about it. It's not like we can close these gates by ourselves, and we have no contact with Dr. Owens. Our best bet is to maybe try and contact Mrs. Byers?"

"So that she can do what?" Mike asked. "Keep El in hiding for even longer? Bad idea. Plus, she knows nothing about this stuff. Our best bet is to figure this out by ourselves and then ask for help."

"Well then I don't know what you want me to tell you guys," Max shrugged. "You basically just told me the world is about to end. How are we going to do anything about that."

Mike started pacing around the room, unsure of what to do. So far, Max had provided no useful input. It wasn't like it was her fault, but it was still disheartening.

"I mean it's not like these portals have been around for a long time, right?" Max asked. "What if there's a core source that connects all of them?"

Mike and Dustin exchanged looks. "What do you mean?"

"Like, remember when you guys told me about trying to find Will? There were multiple portals, right? Nancy got taken in the woods according to Jonathan, and so did Will. What if we close the core source, all of the other portals disappear?"

"Well, we uh, we actually never thought of that! Max, you're a goddamn genius. That could be it!" Dustin grinned.

"Ok even if that is the case," Mike put his hand up. "Do you have any idea where the core source is Dustin? Because I have a pretty good idea, and I'm not liking it."

Dustin suddenly cringed. "That place in Russia where the electromagnetic force is off the charts."

"Exactly," Mike said. "Even if we, by some slim chance, convince the US government that this is going on. I'm not entirely sure they could even get into Russia. Or if they're going to give it a try."

"There's gotta be an easier way," Max said. "Hopper is still in Russia, right? What if we find a way to contact him?"

"Cerebro!" Mike snapped. "Dustin, do you still use that tower?"

Dustin shifted his weight uncomfortably. "See, about that. I tried to use it to contact Suzie a few months back and Chief Reynolds followed me up to the weather top, confiscating cerebro. He told me it was private property, which is complete bullshit."

"Well can you make another one?" Max asked.

"Well yeah, theoretically. But there's no way we have any sort of parts to make one. Those parts were expensive, and considering we don't even have a radio shack anymore, I find it unlikely we find the parts we need."

"Well that's just great." Mike sighed.

"Hey we'll think of something Mike," Dustin assured him. "We just need to sit on it for a little while. The important part is that we have half of our party back together.

Max gave him a small smile," I can't promise you I'll be super active or anything, but if you guys need me, I'll be there."

Mike wanted to say more to Max. He had always taken her friendship for granted in the past, but it turns out she was one of the more loyal ones in the party. He wanted to have an actual conversation with her about what happened last summer, so they could make amends. Before he had a chance to though, thunder shook the Hargrove household.

The three of them peered outside Max's window, curious how the storm clouds were able to arrive so quickly. Only when Mike looked outside the window, there was a singular section of dark storm clouds, flashing red with lighting.

They all peered back from the window, seemingly terrified. Dustin was the one to finally break the silence.

"It's starting."

* * *

April 29th(Clovis. New Mexico)

"El, I really don't think that this is a good idea,"

Will and El were currently standing in front of the Coopers home, which was a basic two story house towards the west side of Clovis. El managed to convince Joyce to let them go to their house later on, and she seemed excited that El had managed to make a new friend. She also seemed eager to leave the house, because she told Will he had to go with no chance of complaining.

El turned towards her adopted brother, giving him a calm smile. "It'll be fun Will. Aren't you tired of spending every day at home anyway?"

"Yeah, but like, you don't understand El. It's going to be really weird that I'm coming with you."

"Alice said that you could come. She said that all four of us should do something fun together, she seems nice."

Will looked about as comfortable as Mike looked whenever Hopper caught them kissing on her bed, which wasn't very comfortable. She had to admit the situation was weird, since they had barely spoken to each other at all these past few months, but El figured it was time for the awkwardness between them to stop. She needed her friend back.

"Look, if you feel weird, just tell me and we can leave. But I really think that it will be fun."

Will nodded and El started to move towards the door. Before she could even knock, The door flung open, revealing Alice in her one piece bathing suit.

"Oh good, you guys made it" Alice smiled brightly. "How are you guys? Here, Jane, this is one of my old swimsuits," Alice handed her a white one piece bathing suit. She then turned to Will. "Will, I think Connor has a few in his room. Why don't you go up and tell him you guys are here? Then make him come down, because if not I'm coming up to his room and dragging him down."

Will looked like he, quite literally, had a stick up his butt. He seemed to be at a loss for words staring at Alice. "Yeah, yeah sure. Ok."

Will moved swiftly past Alice, and started to climb the stairs up to the second level of their house. Alice turned towards El and giggled. "The bathroom is the second door one your left, meet me outside when you're changed."

El gave Alice a small smile, and left to go change in the bathroom. Once she was finished, she made her way outside, where she saw Alice sitting next to the pool. The pool itself gave El goosebumps, and sent a shiver down her spine. Mike had taken her swimming many times last summer, and she learned pretty quickly. But she would be lying if she said that water in general didn't make her at least a little uncomfortable.

Her "bath" experiences in the lab had her scared, most likely for life. Mike had helped calm her down enough to give swimming a try, and it turns out she really enjoys it. It's only that she had never tried swimming when Mike wasn't right next to her the entire time, so swimming without him might prove to be a challange.

"Hey Jane, is everything ok?" Alice asked."

El bit her bottom lip. "It's fine, I'm just not really the best swimmer in the world."

Alice laughed, "I'm sure you're fine. If it makes you feel any better, the pool isn't very deep. It's only like 5 feet. So you can't really drown in it."

El felt a little bit better about that, but she still couldn't shake the stirring feeling in the pit of her stomach.

El took a seat next to Alice, and flashed her a grateful smile. "Thank you for inviting us. Will's really excited to be here too, he's just a little shy."

"Is he always like that? He seems almost skeptical of us?"

El pursed her lips, unsure of how much to actually tell her. "Will's had a rough last couple of years. He's a good person once you get to know him, he just gets scared over little things sometimes. He'll come around."

"Sounds a lot like my brother," Alice admitted. "He's normally really nice and funny, but he's always so scared to put himself out there, like he's going to get laughed at or something. It makes me angry, because I wish he had more confidence than that. Not much I can do though."

"I used to be similar," El said, thinking back to her first time outside of the lab. She was so scared to do anything in fear of it being wrong. Only Mike had assured her that she would be ok, and people like Max had shown her how to be her own person. She really owed her friends for making her into the person she was today.

"Weren't we all," Alice said, taking a sip out of her coke can. "I don't know, sometimes I feel like putting yourself out there can only lead to pain and misery. The only "friends" I've made so far in high school are more concerned with how their hair looks in the morning than actually doing anything fun. I've been on two dates with two different guys and it was quite obvious to me they only wanted something physical. I just feel like I don't belong.

"I'm sure that's not true," El stated. She didn't know a lot about Alice yet, but she was one of the nicest people El had ever met. She was really pretty, and actually seemed to care about her brother. As far as El was concerned, she probably belonged somewhere.

"Maybe you're just not looking for the right people," El suggested.

"I mean, I did ask you to come over didn't I?" A smile was tugging at the corners of Alice's mouth. "Maybe you're one of those people I'm not looking for."

El laughed, and Alice soon joined in. After a while the noise died down, and Alice hovered her foot over the pool's water.

"Can I ask you something a bit personal?" Alice turned towards her.

"Uh, I guess," El shrugged.

"How did you meet your boyfriend?"

El turned about as white as a sheet. The story where she met Mike had all sorts of red flags, and was definitely not something she should be talking about with a girl she just met. However, El figured it wouldn't help to tell her at least the partial truth.

"We met in the woods," El said, bending down and touching the water with her fingertips. "I was new to town and got lost, and he just happened to be in the woods the same time as I was. He took me home and offered me a place to stay until my Dad came. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me."

"I mean if any guy saw a girl like you sitting out in the rain, they practically won the lottery, right?"

El shrugged. "I used to look a lot different. My old foster parents used to shave my hair bald. So when Mike found me in the woods that day…."

"You were bald," Alice finished. "Damn, I really want to meet this guy, he seems great."

"He is," El suddenly frowned. "I haven't seen him in a while, but he seems to be doing fine. I just wish I could see him soon. All of my friends actually."

"I'm sure you'll get the chance to eventually," She put her hand on el's back. "Now let's go swimming! Last one in is a rotten egg!"

Alice did what Dustin liked to call a cannonball, and leapt into the pool, dousing El in water. El smiled suddenly, leaping into the pool after Alice. She had to be careful not to hit her body on the bottom of the pool, as it was pretty shallow. Once she made contact with the water, a feeling of coolness overwhelmed her body immediately, though it left almost immediately.

"See?" Alice pointed at the water once El rose to the top. "I told you it's not very deep."

El forced a giggle out of her mouth, but she was hit very quickly with an uncomfortable feeling near her abdomen. It wasn't pain necessarily, but it made her body feel all tingly. The tingling feeling went from her lower abdomen all the way down towards her right leg, right where she was bitten by the mind flayer almost a year ago.

"Hey Jane?" Alice swam over towards her. "Are you ok,"

El couldn't respond, because the tingling feeling evolved into a burning sensation. Almost like she was about to get lit on fire, but the flame wouldn't ignite her body.

"I'm-" El coughed, and suddenly lost control of her body, feeling herself drift below the water. She could barely make out Alice's figure swimming above her before she blacked out

Only she didn't black out, she was back in the void.

To say El was confused was an understatement. How had she managed to land herself back in this place when she was just swimming in the pool with a friend.

_The water. _El suddenly thought to herself. It must have triggered something in her subconsciousness, bringing her into the void.

She walked forward, barely making out three slim figures in front of her, looking towards the sky.

"This isn't good," She heard a familiar voice say. "I don't know what those are and what they are doing here, but I can tell you it isn't good."

"No shit Sherlock," El heard a sarcastic female voice say. "I had no idea that red storm clouds were bad news."

"This is linked to the Upside Down," She heard another male voice say. "It has to be. Remember those red storm clouds Will drew around the mindflayer two years ago? They looked exactly like this. Whatever doomsday Dustin predicted is starting."

As she got closer, El was able to make out the three figures, all gathered around the side of a house. She wasn't shocked to find that the three figures were three of her best friends: Mike, Dustin, and Max.

Back when her powers still worked, El's subconscious mind brought her to Mike all the time without even thinking about it. Ever since the Fourth of July though, she hadn't once stumbled upon Mike in the void. She had only found Hopper that one time and she still didn't understand how.

Despite how weird this all was, El didn't question it. She moved even closer to Mike, placing herself inches in front of his distraught face. Whatever was going on back in Hawkins couldn't be good from the sound of it, and El was desperate to learn more.

' She studied Mike's face, and it seemed almost like a dream. He was really standing right in front of her, maybe not physically, but spiritually. She could feel his presence, his glow radiating off of his body. She almost couldn't help herself when she reached for his face.

"Mike," she practically whispered, her hand inches from his face.

He jerked suddenly, as if he heard her voice, "El?"

She closed the distance, placing her hand on his cheek. As soon as her skin made contact with his, light poured out of Mike's body, sending shocks of electricity through El's skin. It was that same burning sensation, but a lot more pleasurable now. Almost like she was absorbing part of his presence.

Reality hit El like a ton of bricks when she exited from the void. She found herself sitting on a beach towel in an area she didn't quite recognise. She coughed, spitting water all over her body.

"El?" Will suddenly appeared over her. "Thank God you're ok!"

"Will?" she squinted, barely making out his body. "What's going on?"

"You blacked out," Alice suddenly appeared over her. "It was almost like you had a stroke. Your body convulsed and suddenly you sank to the bottom of the pool. I didn't know what to do, but Will told me not to call an ambulance."

El groaned, suddenly sitting up. Despite feeling like she took a 100 year nap, she felt weirdly ok. Almost powerful in a sense. In an act of desperation, she tried using her powers to life the water droplets off of her skin. Unfortunately, she got little results.

Upset that her powers were still gone, El slumped back down on the towel.

"Uh El, there's something we need to talk about," Will nervously went on. "When you blacked out-"

"You lit up like a Christmas tree!" Conner's excited voice came from behind Will. "All the toys in the pool floated up in the air, and the screen door got ripped off of it's hinges! It was the most incredible thing I've ever seen! Straight out of a comic book!"

El suddenly met Will's eyes, matching his nervous and panicked expression.

"Fuck"

**Well well well, I actually updated this story on schedule for once, will you look at that! Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was honestly one of my favorites to write. Like I said earlier, this story is going to be a lot longer than I originally anticipated. Depending on how I look at it, were about halfway done with this story, not including epilogues. So buckle in, because I need to finish this before I head out to college lol. Feel free to comment with any questions/ concerns. Like i've said many times, the comments are my favorite part of writing. Hope your all having a good week, rip George Floyd :(. Catch you on the next one!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Back at it again with another update. Thank you so much for your continued support on this fic, it really means a lot to me. You people are inspiring me to do greater things, and I'm so happy I have found a platform where I can express my creativity without getting ridiculed(although I like criticism, it makes me a better writer).Hope you enjoy this chapter, things are getting tense in Clovis.**

**Shrike176** **\- Conner and Alice definitely have a role to play, that much is certain. I'm not going to reveal too much, but they're definitely going to stick around for a while. So glad you're still enjoying the story! Your comments genuinely make my day!**

**Xenocide250- Welcome new reader! Mike and Nancy deserve a sibling bond, and I am determined to make sure it's at least a thing in my story. I hope the Duffer brothers have plans for it as well, otherwise I will be very upset. Same with Will and El. The Party breakup was sad to write, but I'm excited to write about them all separately, giving them each more of an arc. So glad you've enjoyed my work so far!**

**Tover gardingle - No, Thank You. People like yourself are the reason I have the motivation to write my story, so thank you for tuning in. No way I would have made it past chapter 3 without comments.**

**Luna0603 - So glad you're still enjoying my story. Your comments also make my day ;). Totally off topic, but I finished Tied Together with a Smile, and that story actually made me shed a tear or two. Literally an emotional rollercoaster, easily in my top 5 favorite fanfics of all time. Craziest part, I didn't even realise you were the writer! You have been commenting on my stories from day one and I didn't even know it was you! I started reading your recent series as well, and can't wait to see where it goes. You are one of my biggest inspirations, thank you!**

**Aps131997- Thank you so much! The characters are something I feel like I have a good grasp on, and hopefully I can continue that from here on out.**

April 30th(Kamchatka Russia)

Hopper had spent most of his Saturday evening doing the thing he most despised, research. One of the main reasons he became a cop in the first place was because he didn't need any schooling to do so. He graduated highschool and joined the army straight away. His time in the military helped him develop skills to ultimately be a cop, and from then on, that's all she wrote. Jim Hopper was a cop, nothing more, nothing less.

Yet, as he spent hours upon hours sitting in the bathroom trying to translate the notes about everybody in Hawkins, he kind of wished he went to college. Or at least paid attention more in school. Because even with the translation dictionaries, Russian made no damn sense to him. He never understood why there were so many different languages in the world. Was it too much to ask for everyone just to speak english?

The worst part is, after hours of using the russian texts to translate the messages, on the toilet, Hopper realised the information he translated was essentially useless.

It was all a bunch of information he already knew. Sure, it was slightly concerning that they knew El had superpowers, and that the Russians were going to try and exploit Mike and hers relationship, but at this point he didn't see how that helped them. They still had no idea where El or the Byers were, and as long as it stayed that way, Hopper could care less what kind of information they picked up.

Sure, the chart was interesting to say the least. It put into perspective how much the Russians actually paid attention to the kids and all their endeavors, and it gave Hopper an idea of how much they value each one. Still though, Hopper could have done without the 6 hours of translating on the toilet, he really could have.

Especially because today was deemed so important by the General. Today was the day that Hopper officially started to prepare for "Operation: Red Planet.". Aka, his trip back to the states. The General told him that they could be prepared to go in a week, which was music to Hopper's ears. If he had to spend another month in Russia, his head might explode.

On his way towards the portal room, Hopper managed to slip the original piece of paper back into the desk where he found it. If anyone was concerned about missing it, they didn't show it. The scientists barely even looked up when he walked in the room.

After Hopper was fitted into his suit, it was time for his least favorite part of his job; actually entering the Upside Down. It was something he had gotten used to over time, but he still didn't particularly like it. He wasn't so sure what was lurking in the darkness, and he didn't care to find out.

Hopper's mission today was simple. He had to walk in a straight line until he reached the ocean, and then placed a yellow flag at the edge. The General and the scientists were very curious with how long it actually took him to reach the ocean, and from there they would be able to plot out how long it would take him to reach Seattle.

The answer? About 30 minutes or so. When Hopper reached the ocean, he almost couldn't believe what he was looking at. What he was looking at was a dark abyss, covered in dark eroding mountains. There was no water, not that he was expecting it, and the dry abyss went down at least 100 feet. All in all, it reminded Hopper of a lot bigger, a lot darker, and a lot more shallow version of the Grand Canyon.

He reported his findings to the General over the intercom, and placed the yellow marker into one of the canyons ashy hills. When he finally returned back to base, the General was excited to see him.

"Good new Jim Hopper! The Ocean was not nearly as steep as we thought it would be. It should only take you about 7 hours to reach Seattle, where you will link the first set of portals."  
"7 hours?" Hopper was baffled. Spending even a single hour in that place was enough for him to lose his mind. He can't imagine how hard it would be to journey 7 hours into uncharted territory, alone might he add.

"7 hours will not be that long," The General assured. "We will be providing you with food and water as you wish, and assuming it will not erode in the toxic atmosphere, you will be able to make it to Seattle alive and well."

"That's reassuring," Hopper grumbled under his breath. The General chuckled and clapped him on the back.

"Do not worry, Jim Hopper. If this all goes well, you will be a true hero to The Solviet Union. We will be writing your name in history books for years to come.

The General was still smiling as he left the room, leaving Hopper alone with two Russian soldiers, who were helping him remove his suit.

Hopper clenched his teeth and clenched his fist. Becoming a Russian hero was exactly what he was afraid of.

* * *

April 30th (Hawkins, Indiana)

Mike woke up on Sunday morning feeling like he was floating, literally. He didn't know what it was, but ever since yesterday at Max's house, Mike felt like a whole new person.

Ever since he heard El's voice whispering from the heavens.

Mike knew how crazy it sounded, but when he looked up into the storm clouds yesterday, he swore he heard El's voice whispering his name, reaching out to him. Ever since then, Mike had a weird buzz pulsating through his body, almost like he was drunk, but still in control of his actions. He was sure that the feeling would have gone away as soon as he woke up the next morning, yet here he was.

But who was he kidding, Mike felt great. _Excellent_ even. This was the best he had felt in months, and he was going to make sure he put all his excess energy to good use. Dustin, Max, and even Steve were coming over later, and had a lot to discuss.

Even though Mike woke up feeling happy and energized, his mood shifted drastically as soon as he strode down the steps and into the kitchen, where his family awaited him.

To say things between him and his family had been tense these last few months would be the understatement of the year. But if Mike considered breakfast with his family to be weird before yesterday, today was going to be a whole new level of awkward.

"Good morning Mike," His mom greeted him with a fake smile. "Breakfast is on the table, help yourself."

"Thanks," Mike mumbled, taking his usual seat between Nancy and Holly. He saw Nancy staring at him, but as soon as he looked over, she veered her vision towards the window. Mike's dad looked over in his direction as soon as he sat down, but quickly moved his eyes back to the newspaper he was holding. Hooly, blissfully unaware of the awkwardness, continued to munch down her pancakes without a single regret.

Yep, this was his family all right.

Not wanting to spend more time eating breakfast than he had to, Mike quickly began to scarf down some pancakes and a glass of orange juice. In almost record time, Mike finished breakfast and left the breakfast table, not even bothering to clean up after himself.

As he began to leave the kitchen, his mom called out his name, "Mike?"

Mike turned a painful 180 degrees, looking directly into his mother's eyes. "Yes?"

She shifted her weight uncomfortably, and bit down hard on her bottom lip. "I was thinking that maybe later me and your father could have a discussion with you, about the last couple of months."

Mike's mind wandered at what she could possibly want to talk to him about. His grades were perfect as always, he hasn't gotten into much trouble, and other than the weird ass tension between the entire family that has always existed, everything seemed normal between everyone.

"I guess?" Mike said. "Dustin's coming over later, I hope that's ok."

"That's fine honey. It's just that when your father comes home from work tonight, we need to talk."

Mike nodded his head, indicating that he understood and turned quickly towards the basement door. He failed to tell his mom that Dustin was actually at his basement door, along with a couple of other friends she probably wouldn't approve of.

He hurried towards the basement door and wasn't surprised to see Dustin, Max, and Steve all waiting for him.

"It's about damn time Wheeler," Steve rolled his eyes.

"Yes you do," Dustin shoved past him, pushing his arm. Max followed and mimicked Dustin's gesture, causing Steve to throw his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Did you bring all the stuff," Mike asked Dustin.

The curly headed boy nodded, proceeding to empty his backpack out on Mike's old Dnd table. The contents included the polaroid cartridge, the Russian map of the world, and snacks of course. Dustin began to spread each of the objects out on the table carefully, making sure they were each given a good amount of space.

Mike, Max and Steve each took a seat around the table, prepared for the long needed discussion about the fate of the world.

Dustin cleared his throat, "Today I have called a meeting to discuss… well… pretty much everything that has been going on the past few months, and what we're going to do to stop it."

"Jesus Henderson," Steve facepalmed, "Why don't you have Mike take this one, your horrible at introducing new information."

Dustin looked upset but gestured to Mike, who was more than happy to start talking. "Let's just get right into it. As of right now, this is the new party. This is all we have. I know it's not a lot, but if anyone can at least figure out how to stop this doomsday, I feel like it's us."

Everyone nodded at that except Max, who looked a bit unsure. "So this is really it then?" she asked. "Were not even going to try and get into contact with the Byers? No Robin? No Erica? No Lucas?"

"Will and El should stay out of this," Mike said. "It's important that they stay hidden and stay safe. We need to take the reins on this one Max,"

Steve nodded, "Robin will always be there when we need her, but for right now we should leave her out of this. She has other things to worry about, and we shouldn't force her to be part of our suicide missions?"

"Suicide Missions?" Dustin raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't all them suicide missions. More like very risky things that could get us killed, but could also save the world."

Max turned towards Mike while the two boys continued to bicker, "You guys aren't even going to try to reach out to Lucas? He's your best friend."

"_Was_," Mike clarified, " He wants nothing to do with us right now. As soon as he comes to his senses he's more than welcome to join us."

Mike was sick to his stomach talking about Lucas like that, but he knew it had to be done. He was hopeful his friend would come to his senses sooner rather than later, but he wasn't cerian. And he most definitely didn't want to rely on someone who wasn't 100% all in like he was.

"Anyways!" Mike clapped his hands together, eager to draw Dustin and Steve's attention back towards him. "This is the Party, at least for right now. To be honest, I don't even know where to start."

"I actually was coming up with some ideas last night," Dustin admitted. He grabbed the polaroid cartridge sitting on the table, and held it up for everyone to see.

"This is the one lead we actually have right now," Dustin admitted. "We still don't understand where it came from or who it belongs to. If we want to learn more about the Russians in Hawkins, this is the key."

"A polaroid cartridge?" Max gasped. "This is all we have to go off of right now?"

"I'm with her," Steve jabbed his finger in Max's direction. "How the hell is that thing supposed to help us save the world."

"Will you all just shut up and let me explain?" Dustin yelled. "Mike, Lucas and I found this when we were getting wood from Hopper's cabin months ago. We just never had a chance to bring it back up because of all that followed."

"Ok, so you found a polaroid carriage," Max said, feigning her excitement. "That could literally be from anyone."

"Except it couldn't be," Dustin said, glaring at Max. "Because this polaroid cartridge is different. I checked every store that sells cameras in Hawkins, and all the Sears catalogs, no polaroid cartridge has eight battery slots like this one."

Dustin held it up for Max and Steve to see, and sure enough, they actually started taking an interest in the little thing.

"So your saying this thing has to be some sort of Russian cartridge?" Steve asked.

"I'm saying this thing is 100% not American made," Dustin clarified. "And whoever was taking pictures at Hoppers cabin owned the camera that this cartridge belonged to. There's only two groups of people that would find that place interesting. Our own government, and the Russian government. And since the camera was not American made, my bets are on the Russians."

Max turned the cartridge around in her hands, obviously deep in thought. "Or it could be neither?" Max pointed out.

"What do you mean," Dustin asked.

"What if the Russians had some sort of mole, someone to gather all the information in town for them. It's too risky for them to show their face here with the government watching. This person would have to be a public figure, someone that wouldn't draw too much attention to the police."

Suddenly the gears in Mike's head started to turn. He started to come up with a theory so crazy that it just might be true.

Mike snapped his fingers, "Or it is the police,"

Dustin, Steve, and Max all exchanged confused looks, "What are you talking about?" Steve asked.

"The police and our town obviously have some connection to the Russians." Mike stated. "We've known that for a while, and it's the reason why Will and El had to move out of Illinois in the first place. We were all afraid of them catching onto them, right? We thought they knew who El really was."

"Correct," Dustin waved his hand for Mike to continue.

"Well we always just assumed the cops knew the bare minimum, right? Maybe the government, or the Russians, or whoever just told them to keep an eye out for her. What we didn't consider was that… what if the cops are directly working for the Russians?"

Everyone seemed to be pondering Mike's theory. Finally, it was Steve who spoke up. "I mean it would make sense, right? This chief Reynolds guy pops out of nowhere and _boom!_ He's the chief of police. It was a bit strange, right?

Max seemed unsure, "But what about Officer Powell? He's been in the department for years with Hopper, wouldn't he question if something fishy was going on?"

"Max, trust me," Dustin put his hand on her shoulder. "If theres anything I've learned in these past few years, it's just how stupid our police department, minus Hopper, could be."

Dustin turned to Mike then," So you're sure then? You think Renyolds is working for the Russinans?"

"I don't know Dustin, but it makes sense to me at least. It's something to go off of. First things first, we need to find the camera. Once we find it, we can find out for sure if Reynolds is our guy."

"A good old fashion stakeout," Steve rubbed his hands together. "I'm in."

"As am I," Dustin agreed. Max gave Mike a shrug, which Mike considered a yes.

Mike realised there was another thing they needed to discuss, "Guys, if I'm really right about this, and Renyolds is working for the Russians, you realise what we need to do then, right?

"Kill him?" Steve asked.

"No, not kill him," Dustin shook his head. "We need to squeeze out every last drop of information out of this guy. If he's working for the Russians, then he might know more about the doomsday, and how to stop it."

"But by doing that," Mike said. "We would be putting ourselves at risk. He's the chief of police. Russian or not, he could throw us in jail. He's already skeptical, so we would need to be _really _careful." Mike was looking specifically at Dustin and Steve.

"Why are you looking at us?" Dustin asked, clearly offended.

"You two are known for doing risky and stupid shit. If we're doing this, I need your guarantee that you're not going to improvise and put us all at risk, understand?"

Mike knew he was never going to get a guarantee. He was looking at the two teenagers that thought investigating a russian elevator with a 10 year old girl was a good idea. But nonetheless, he got nods from both of them.

"Good," Mike nodded. "Tonight is a no go, since the chief is off today. But tomorrow after school we need to check everywhere. His house, the station, even his car. We need to find this thing and make sure my theory is correct."

"Operation Stakeout with Team New Party is a go, set for t minus 28 hours from now," Dustin smiled, setting his watch.

Steve was also smiling, but Max just groaned. Clearly, she very much missed being part of the party. Although he managed to catch her smiling, even if it only was for a second.

* * *

Mike was sitting in his room, carefully sifting through El's scrapbook she made for him at Christmas. Sometimes he just needed a reminder that there was someone in this world that truly loved him for who he was, even if she was thousands of miles away.

"Knock Knock?" his mom currently stood at his door, followed loosely by Mike's father. To be honest, Mike had completely forgotten about the promise he made to his mother earlier, so they took him by surprise.

Mike quickly shoved the scrapbook under his pillow, eager to not let his father see him almost tearing up at a book covered in hearts made by his girlfriend, even if he was far from embarrassed.

"Come in?" He asked more of a question rather than a statement. His father and mother quickly and awkwardly made their way across his room, sitting on either side of his bed.

"So how are you today honey?" his mom asked.

"_Dear God, this is torture,"_ Mike thought in his head. "I'm pretty good… so err… what did you guys want to talk to me about?"

His mother gave him a soft smile and gestured towards his father, who cleared his throat. "Son, these past few months you have been very distant, even more than normal. We figured you may be sad about your girlfriend leaving, but that is no excuse to be moping around like a lovesick idiot all the time,"

"Um, sorry?" Mike said, glaring at his father.

"Now Ted," His mother began. "You said you wanted to have a conversation with Mike, not yell at him."

His father grumbled what seemed to be an apology, and looked back up at him. "Son, I'm just concerned about your future, that's all. If you want to make it far into the business world, you can't be hung up on this girl like she holds the key to the world. She'll only slow you down."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Mike admitted. "El's not even here, how could she possibly be considered a distraction?"

"I'm just concerned son, that's all. Ever since Nancy started to date that Jonathan kid, her head has been in the gutter. I don't want the same thing to happen to you, just because your teenage hormones are getting in the way."

Mike narrowed his eyes at his father, a very risky gesture, "So essentially you think I'm only dating El to have sex with her? I'm sorry, but you obviously haven't been paying much attention to our relationship if that's really what you think,"

"Michael!" His mother gasped.

"You don't care about my happiness Dad, you just want me to be successful. There's a difference."

"I want you to be happy, Michael," His father sighed, clearly losing his patience. "But I think you would be happier if you cut loose all your distractions. Getting a good job will bring you happiness son."

"_She _makes me happy," Mike said, standing up. "And it's not like she's distracting me, she's halfway across the country. You don't understand our relationship dad, you never will. So why don't you just stay out of my business?"

Mike half expected his dad to slap him across his face. But instead, he just got up and left. His mom stayed behind.

"Did you know that he was going to talk to me about this?" Mike asked her.

Mike's mom rubbed her arms nervously. "He just wanted to give you some advice, Mike. He's been your age before. I thought-"

"Well, you thought wrong," Mike cut her off. "I love her mom, I thought you understood that by now. I guess not.

His mother silently exited the room, and was finally able to let out a deep breath. He flopped back down onto his bed, and took out El's scrapbook from under his pillow. Almost subconsciously, Mike flipped to the very back, reading El's note.

"_Even if I'm not always with you, just remember how much I care about you. You aren't alone Mike, and you never will be. I love you! -El"_

Mike snorted. Like he would ever breakup with someone as wonderful as her

* * *

April 30th(Clovis. New Mexico)

El paced around the kitchen counter as Joyce bagan to gather her things and put them into her purse. Will was currently sitting at the kitchen table, nervously shaking his leg.

"I should be back by tonight, around 12. Your new friends are welcome to stay over, but just remember to keep an eye open for anything unusual, understand?"

Will and El both nodded, eager for Joyce to finally leave the house. She had been parading with warnings all day, obviously worried about leaving them alone for the night.

Joyce smiled at them both, and pulled them into a hug. "There's twenty dollars on the counter, along with Murray's house phone number. If I'm not home when you guys wake up, call that number. Understand?"

"Yes Mom," Will rolled his eyes. "And don't worry, Jonathan gets done with his shift at 11. We won't be home alone for too long."

"It makes me feel better that you guys are going to be with friends, but I will never stop worrying Will." Joyce smiled and kissed his cheek. "Love you guys! Be back soon."

With that, Joyce Byers exited the new Byers household. It wasn't a very big house, similar to the old Byers household back in Hawkins. There were three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. Their backyard yard was a lot smaller, since they lived near the city. But it was big enough to the point where El didn't care much. They had a tiny porch swing in the back where she could read, which was good enough for her.

As soon as Joyce's green Ford Pinto left the driveway, Will picked up the phone to make a call.

"Conner," Will called into the phone. "She's gone, you guys can come over now."

El sighed, and continued pacing once Will put down the receiver. Due to El's massive mistake yesterday, they were going to have to come clean to Conner and Alice. El wasn't sure it was the best decision, but she figured it was better than pretending like it didn't happen. They saw the objects near the pool float up yesterday, clear as day. They also saw El glowing like a nuclear missile, so it was safe to assume that they were not going to take excuses.

It's not like that El didn't trust the twins, because they genuinely seemed like nice people. It was the risk that came with telling more people. By telling Conner and Alice, El would be putting them both in danger, which was something neither of them deserved.

Before she got too deep in thought, the doorbell rang. Will raced towards the window, making sure it the people at the door were who he was expecting. Once he made sure, he went over to the front door to let them in.

Quietly and a little unsure of themselves, Conner and Alice walked into the kitchen, giving El a small smile.

"Hello," El greeted, giving them both a smile. To say the whole thing was awkward would be an understatement.

"So," Alice seemed to have snapped out of her trance. "Are we going to talk about yesterday or not."

"Yes," El assured her with a nod. "But first Will needs to lay out some… ground rules."

"Ground Rules," Conner asked. "What is this, middle school gym?"

Will confidently stepped forward, giving them a serious look. "This isn't a joke you guys, if we tell you guys everything, you could be in real danger. I need to ask you two things. One, do you accept the risks that knowing all this comes with?"

"What risks are you even talking about," Alice said, chuckling. "Are you guys secret fugitives or something?"

El and Will turned to look at each other, "Kindoff," Will offered.

Conner and Alice quickly shared a look before nodding.

"The other thing I need is your guarantee you will never speak about this to anyone ever again. This information we are about to tell you is going to blow your mind, and we can't have anyone else knowing."

"Jeez, yes. We promise we won't say anything to anyone without your consent." Conner said.

Will glanced in El's direction, waiting for her word. El responded with a nod. It was time for Conner and Alice to know the truth. Even though it might put her in danger, it was the only way to make all of this right.

Will quickly launched into the story, telling them everything that had happened over the course of the last three years. Alice and Conner's eyes went from interested, to shocked, to just plain confused as Will went on. He finally finished off with what recently happened over Christmas break, leading them to present day.

After explaining all the information in such a short amount of time, Will sat down, clearly exhausted. "Anyone have any questions?" He asked.

"Holy shit," Conner threw his hands over his head. "You're a legitimate super hero! Like Jean Grey."

"Uh, I guess?" Back home in Hawkins, her friend Steve Harrignton always called her Jean Grey, though El never understood the reference.

"And you survived in an alternate dimension with a demon hunting you for an entire week? You're a legend!" He turned his attention to Will.

El did not expect either of them to take the news well, but she was obviously wrong about Conner. He took it in stride, hounding Will with questions. Alice on the other hand was really quiet, and continued to stare at the floor.

"Alice?" El asked. "Are you ok?"

Alice looked at El and let out a humorous laugh, "I mean I was just told that alternate dimensions exist, the government kidnaps little girls, and that actual monsters exist. Of course I'm ok."

She shook her head, and gave El a weak smile. "It's just a lot to take in. It's hard to believe, or even understand any of this to tell you the truth. But what happened at the pool, this would explain it. It's just crazy."

Will nodded, giving her a wide eyed look. "Trust me, we know. The last few years have been a living hell. Well, for me at least. For El these are probably some of her better years, to be honest."

El nodded sadly, because it was true. She would gladly take everything they had gone through in the last few years over her time in the lab.

"So this guy, Brenner you said? He tried to train you as a weapon? And then you opened the portal?" Conner asked.

El nodded, "They wanted me to spy on the Russians, instead I found the Demogorgan. I unintentionally opened a rift into the Upside Down."

"Demogorgan?" Conner asked. "Like in DnD?

"Me and my friends are nerds," Will face palmed. "We named all these things after Dnd monsters, just don't question it."

Alice started to trace the table cloth on the kitchen table, looking a little more alive. "So after this monster attacked you guys in the mall, all the Russians just disappeared?"

Will and El nodded.

"And you haven't been able to use your powers ever since yesterday?" Conner asked.

El shifted her feet, "It's complicated. When I went back to Hawkins, they started to come back a little bit. Something similar to what happened at your pool happened when I was with my boyfriend. I had a dream about my father and the Russians, where I was back in the void."

"Damn," Conner whistled. "That's like something out of a comic book."

"You said that already," Alice grumbled.

"Yeah I know," Conner glared at her. "You didn't let me finish. It's like something out of a comic book, only the hero never loses their powers in a comic book. It's very strange. You guys have no idea what caused it?"

"We think it had to be the Mindflayer," Will explained. "At first El thought she just overworked herself, but it's literally been 9 months and she still can't use her powers. It's like they're dormant."

"And there's no constants when you're able to use your powers? A controlled variable?"

Conner asked.

"What do you mean," El asked.

"He means is there anything that is always the same whenever you have been able to use your powers," Will explained before turning to Conner. "We've run through so many possibilities dude, it just seems random."

"Wait a minute," Alice said, standing up. "You said when you were able to access your powers back in Hawkins, you were with your boyfriend?"

El suddenly turned very red when she thought about that night. Her and Mike grinding together in privacy, his lean body pressed against her naked chest…..

Will clapped in her face, which quickly snapped El out of her trance. "Uh yes."

"Both times?" Alice asked.

El nodded without hesitation. Alice quickly turned towards Will and Conner. "I'm no expert in any of this stuff, but before that stuff happened in the pool, we were talking about her boyfriend. That can't be a coincidence."

"We've talked about it before," El explained. "Mike thinks it was because I was relaxed. When I am relaxed my mind takes over my body, or something."

"My mom always told me when a patient at a hospital has a stroke, it takes them hundreds of tries doing the same exact thing in order to get the rhythm in their body back. Almost like you're reteaching yourself how to move."

"So you think she had a stroke?" Will asked.

"I mean it would make sense," Alice shrugged. "Maybe not a stroke, but something similar. Part of her body stopped working, and her powers still work. They're just dormant. Maybe you just have to relearn?"

It was an interesting thought and something she had never considered. If only she could figure out what happened to her powers in the first place. Alice's suggestion would be more helpful if El knew how to activate them.

Conner snapped his fingers together, "Exactly like Doha,"

Everyone turned to him, "Who's Doha?" Will asked.

"Doha is a Baxter Comics superhero, he's telekinetic and can phase through walls," Conner explained. "He had something similar happen to him. His powers were gone for a while, until he brought his wife with him to the nightmare realm, where he trained to get his powers back. Eventually he came back stronger than ever and destroyed Pajeon to save the world."

Will rubbed his eyes,"What the hell is Baxters Comics?" Alice and El looked equally confused.

"It's this Asian comic book company. They're not D.C or Marvel, but the stories are super interesting. The comic book store back in Texas used to sell them."

"Ok," Alice started. "So we're comparing Jane's problem to a comic book? Really Conner?"

Conner shrugged. "I'm just saying."

Will looked deep in thought. "If Mike really does trigger your powers, maybe there's a way you can get them back." El shrugged.

Will stayed at the table, answering more of Alice and Conner's questions. The twins seemed to have taken it well, and El is glad she decided to tell them. More allies was never a bad thing. El stopped over to the tv, turning it on and flipping to the news.

_Reports are coming in all around the country about a potential superstorm forming over multiple cities. The most notable being Seattle, Toronto, and the mysterious town of Hawkins Indiana….._

El looked at the TV screen, horrified at what she was hearing. "Will!" she yelled into the kitchen. "Come here!"

Will entered the living room, followed loosely by Conner and Alice. El gestured towards the TV screen. "Massive superstorm forming over Hawkins Indiana?"

Will contently stared at the television, and looked back with wide eyes. "That- that looks like the storm in my drawings!"

El looked at him, confused, before he ran into his room. He came out minutes later holding a drawing of red storm clouds, the mindflayer in the center of it.

"I drew this while I was possessed." Will explained. "I thought it was some kind of warning. A warning that he was coming."

"That, who was coming?" Conner asked.

"The Mind Flayer, The ruler of the upside down. It was his warning that he was coming."

El stared at the pictures on the tv screen, and had to admit they looked very similar to the storm clouds on the television. "So that means-"

"They're in danger," Will said. "We need to warn them,"

"Maybe it's nothing," Alice offered. "Freak storms happen all the time. I'm sure it'll pass by."

Will didn't look so sure, "In the morning El, we're telling mom to call Hawkins to warn them, I have a bad feeling about this."

El nodded. She couldn't help but notice the way that Will was feeling the back of his neck, as if he was checking for goosebumps.

**Another chapter down. Thank you all for the continued support on this story, it really means a lot. I was disappointed when I first posted the last chapter, because I had 0 comments for like three days. Then all of a sudden I got 5 in one night, and I was so excited! Those of you wondering if baxters comics are a real thing, there not. Me and my friend used to be obsessed with making comics when we were younger, and Doha the telekinetic used to be our main character. It's just something I put in this story to make him laugh. Don't forget to comment if you have any questions or concerns, and I'll catch you on the next one :).**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello everyone, and welcome back! Not much to say in the authors note other than the fact that I started a new series! Don't worry, the upload date of this story should not change, it's just something else for me to write while I have freetime. It's a mileven role reversal with some different twists, so check that out if you want. Other than that, enjoy the story!**

**Luna0603- aghhh. I hate Ted Wheeler so much. I'm going to actually try and give him an arc, so we'll see where it goes.**

**Tover Gardingle- That's actually wild! On the stranger things subreddit or what, because I'm normally on there all the time and I didn't see it. Thank you to that person I guess because my last chapter blew up. Much appreciated, and thank you.**

**Xenocide250- Yeah the language thing was sort of risky, but I thought Hopper needed some information on what is going on, I can imagine it's a pain in real life. Yeah Ted pisses me off, in canon I could actually see him think that, so that's why I added it. Yes! Thank you for realising the parallel between the comic books and DND! That will be important later on, good catch! I actually don't remember what movie/show I got the Chief Renyolds storyline from but it's definitely based on something I pulled from the deep part of my brain, very well could be daredevil lol. Thank you for your continued support!**

**KentClarkson03 - I think if you go to chapter 10 I explain it in the Hopper section. I actually didn't explain it very well, but here's the big idea: the upside down's ratio size is about half of earth's. So if you travel 1 foot on earth, you would be traveling two feet in the upside down. Similar to the nether in minecraft(Literally is what I based it on). As for the buildings, ****Kamchatka is a rural Russian city located on a peninsula. So it's pretty close to the ocean and Hopper most likely would not run into any buildings. Also another thing with the size in the upside down theory, it's not perfectly accurate. If I were to go to Seattle lets say(no spoilers here!) The buildings would still be in the same place, and the city itself would be nearly the same as it is on the normal side. It doesn't make perfect sense but it's the best way I can get Hopper to Russia in a reasonable amount of time. I will explain more in the future, don't worry.**

**Aps131997- Thank you! Jonathan will be really involved in the future, I have been saving him specifically until this chapter to be exact.**

**Shrike176- It's funny, you guys are asking for Jonathan and then he comes in this chapter, what great timing! Yeah I hate Ted in canon, but I'm trying to give him more of an arc here, maybe learn something haha.**

May 1st (Kamchatka Russia)

Hopper was currently being escorted down to the equipment room, most likely to do some more tests inside the Upside Down. Like he previously had mentioned, he didn't really mind the tests all too much. Sure, he was scared shitless everytime he had to walk back into that place, but after a while he had gotten used to it. Considering he was so close to going back home, Hopper was more than happy to tough this out a few more days.

Only when they reached the equipment room, the scientists continued to escort him further. Now, the training facility that housed the portal to the upside down was very big, Hopper had just not seen a lot of the rooms yet. It was set up similar to that of the Russians base back in Hawkins, only much larger. However, he never thought that he would get to see more of the rooms near ground level, considering they all looked like they were all locked for people without special clearance.

Though, it looked like that was exactly where the Russian guards were taking him. The guards sped past the equipment room, into what Hopper liked to call the void room. It was where all the machines used to open the portal were located, along with the portal itself. It wasn't very safe or stable, as far as he could tell, so Hopper felt a chill running down his spine as they strolled past with no equipment on.

They stopped at the next door, directly across from the equipment room. One of the soldiers swiped his card on the key slot, and opened the door with relative ease, gesturing Hopper to follow. Once inside, Hopper was surprised to see something that looked quite similar to that of a high school locker room. Cubbies were lined up along both sides of the walls, and the room had a soft, musty scent. Hence the reference to the highschool locker room.

Waiting for him in the center of the room at a desk, which was very out of place if he might add, was the General. He was currently smoking a cigar with his feet up in the air, as if he had been waiting for Hopper for quite a long time.

"Ah, Jim Hopper," The General flashed a cold smile. "I've been waiting for you all morning!"

Hopper shifted his weight and licked his lips. "Well I could say the same to you, only I have no idea why I'm here, as per usual."

The General laughed, a cold hard chuckle that froze the blood under Hopper's skin. "I thought you would have gotten used to that by now." He stood up then, approaching Hopper. "Today it is necessary to go over some very crucial details with you. We must teach you how to properly link the portals, and how to avoid getting yourself killed."

Hopper nodded, and in all honesty, these were questions he'd been having for a long time. Hell, he didn't even know what linking the portals did, much less how to do it.

The General guided him towards a bench located in the back of the room, with two things that looked familiar, yet so alien to Hopper. They were small, about the size of his hands, and resembled that of a spray paint container. Yet judging by all the flashing lights and buttons attached to them, Hopper could tell they were not used to vandalise the school.

"These are important, we call them breakers," the general explained. "Once you enter the other side of the portal in Seattle, you must throw these back into the other side."

Hopper looked at the General with confusion, "You want me to throw them into the portal? What is that even going to do?"

The General raised his hand patriently, "It will do its job, you must trust me. Instead of bringing you into the The Other World, the portal in Seattle will instead bring you here, and vice versa."

Hoppe's eyes widened, "So by doing what you say, I will be creating a portal from Russia into the United States…"

"Ah he's learning," The General clapped his hands together. "You will be a hero to the Russian government Jim Hopper, by giving us an invasion route into the United States."

Hopper played with the devices in his hands, not meeting the Generals eyes. "So when am I leaving then?"

"Tomorrow," The General said with no emotion.

Hopper coughed, and suddenly felt like he was going to be sick," Tomorrow? I've barely trained at all! What if one of those creatures attacks me? What if I get lost-"

The General once again raised his hand, signaling for Hopper to be quiet. "We will go over all of this tomorrow, but for now you need to make sure you are well rested and fed."

Hopper grumbled as one of the soldiers began to tug at his arm, silently telling him his audience with the General was over. Hopper reluctantly followed the guards out of the weird room.

On the way back to his room, Hopper pondered on what the General had told him, and he ultimately came to one conclusion.

Whether he died or not, he was not throwing those damn breakers into the portal.

* * *

May 1st (Hawkins, Indiana)

"What the fuck do you think your doing?" Mike shouted.

It had been a good day so far for Mike. He had gotten an A on his math test he barely studied for, Max had decided to join both him and Dustin for lunch, and he hadn't spoken to his parents all day. Yep, everything had been going good until the Party had started Operation stakeout.

Mike's plan had started out smooth enough. Chief Renyolds had been absent from the police station most of the day, so they were able to slip by the receptionist with relative ease after Dustin filed a report about someone he had never seen about a crime they hadn't committed. The only issue was that the camera was nowhere to be seen in the Chief's office, meaning they had to search elsewhere.

Elsewhere just happened to be the Chiefs very own house, which he was currently absent from, one of the only reasons why Mike hadn't completely lost his mind yet. The Chief didn't live too far away from Mike. He lived in the opposite direction as Dustin at about the same distance, only the Chefs house was more secluded. The house was on the very edge of the street, with only one neighbor to his left. Nonetheless, Mike was freaked out about getting spotted.

So when Steve started to move towards the house after Mike had just expressed his concern about getting spotted, he just about lost his mind.

Steve turned around to face Mike, the look of concern completely absent from his face. "What, Wheeler? If we want to know if he has the camera, we need to get a closer look at his house, potentially stage a safe break in."

"The words _safe_ and _break in _hardly fit in the same sentence," Mike exasperated. "He has a neighbor, what if someone sees you?"

"Old man Thompson is not going to see or care," Steve said pointing towards the other house. "That guy is a wet noodle and sleeps 18 hours a day. I'm willing to take the risk."

Mike groaned. They had barely been at it an hour and Steve was already going off on his own page. It's not like Mike didn't expect it, he just hoped for better.

"Look, I volunteer to go with," Dustin raised his hand. "That way he has someone to keep him in check."

"That's even worse!" Mike honestly couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Look," Steve looked Mike in the eyes. "Either way, we need to check inside of that house to see if he has the camera. It's only four right now, and the Chief doesn't get done with his shift until 5. We have an hour to go take a look around, and if we find nothing, then your theory is wrong anyways. But at least we can cross it off the list."

Mike licked his lips, "Well yeah, but there's gotta be a better way to do this. We can't just waltz our way in there."

"Mike," Max put her hand on his shoulder. The red-headed girl had been quiet throughout this whole conversation. "Just let them go. If Dustin's Doomsday prediction really is correct, then we don't have a lot of time."

Mike cringed, he had almost, _almost_ forgotten about the Doomsday. Storm clouds had been circling Hawkins for days now, and it's been all over the news. Freak storm systems had been circling Toronto, Seattle, and other places as well, even ones not pictured on Dustin's map. Heavy winds and rain had plagued Hawkins for a while, along with a blistering heatwave.

One thing was for sure, something was happening in Hawkins, something unnatural. And finding that camera may be the first step in stopping it. Mike turned towards Steve, letting out a big sigh.

"Fine," Mike said. "But make sure you're being really careful. You only have an hour, so use it wisely. Me and Max will stay behind and watch your back."

Steve nodded, grabbing Dustin by the shoulder. Together, the two boys stealthily made their way across the front yard, towards the visible side of the two story house. Mike was so enthralled watching the two boys, he barely noticed that it had left him and Max completely alone.

It's not that him and Max were on bad terms or anything, but they definitely had things to discuss. Things that stretched all the way back to last summer.

"It's nice," Max said, smiling. "How close those two are. Steve's practically the brother he never had."

Mike shrugged, keeping his eyes trained on the two, who were now circling the house. "I guess. It's still weird for me, since Steve was Nancy's ex-boyfriend. But I'm getting used to it at the very least. Steve's a good guy."

"He is," Max nodded in agreement. She started twiddling her thumbs then, as if she was unsure what to say next. Finally, she took a deep breath, and turned towards him.

"Hey Mike?" She asked.

"Yeah?" Mike said, turning towards her. She bit her lip.

"I just wanted to say….. I'm sorry for abandoning you guys for all those months. I know we were all being kindoff stupid, but I was being expecially stupid. I didn't realise how much you were hurting, how much you guys actually needed me. I shouldn't have kept away and….." She waved her hands. "I'm sorry."

Mike gave her a look of confusion, because truly, he was confused. In the year he had known Max Mayfied, he didn't think he had ever heard her apologize. "It's ok," Mike shrugged. "It's not like we really reached out to you either. Maybe we all needed to go our separate ways for a while, just to cool off."

"Yeah, but you didn't need that." Max pointed out. "I noticed the way you carried yourself after the split. You looked rejected, almost depressed. I never thought you guys ever really needed me, you were all so close. Yet, you looked like you needed a friend. And I wasn't there for you. So I'm sorry Mike, I really am."

Mike felt angry. Even though Max was apologizing, she was doing it in the worst possible way. She was right, but he didn't need her to pity him. "I don't know what you're talking about Max. You think you have me all figured out, don't you?"

"Actually, I think I kind of do," Max pointed a finger at his face. "I used to think you were a total control freak, like all you wanted to do was to command people around, and control people. Only that wasn't it, was it?"

Mike turned his attention back to the house. Dustin was currently giving Steve a lift up to the roof, something Mike could have found concerning if he wasn't so distracted. "Max, I have no idea what you're getting at."

Max smiled, as if she was enjoying herself. "Every time you do the stupid leader thing, it's to protect the people you love. You _need_ to be the hero, the saviour, because it distracts you. Distracts you from the reality that your friends could actually die, or worse. You shoulder the weight because if you fail, there's no one else to blame."

Mike looked at Max with wide eyes. Who was this alien creature, and what had they done with Max? "Wow," Mike scratched behind his head. "That was deep,"

"Yeah I know," Max said, turning herself back to the house. "Look, what I'm trying to say Mike, is that I get it. I know why you used to be so protective over El, and why you still are. You love her, and you don't want to lose her. And what I did last summer? That was extremely out of line for me. So I'm sorry for that too."

"Max," Mike turned back towards her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I appreciate the apology, it means a lot to me, really. But I'm over it. Really, me and El breaking up was the best thing that could have ever happened to us. Because now we know how much we love each other. So actually, I should be thanking you."

Max chuckled, "That's one way of looking at it, I guess."

A silence formed over the two now as they watched Steve and Dustin attempt to break into the Chefs house. This new Max, she confused Mike. He wasn't there for her change, and didn't know why she changed. So with the last ounce of courage he had, Mike decided to ask the question that had been hanging over his head since they last talked to Max.

"Max?" Mike asked. "Those months where you were gone. You said you got mixed up in the wrong crowd, made some mistakes. What happened."

Max cringed, clearly not ready for that question. "When me and Lucas split, I needed a distraction. Even though I lost feelings for him, he was still the best friend I've ever had. And it hurt, it hurt not being able to see him every day. My home life just kept getting worse and worse too, and it felt like I was drowning."

Mike turned back towards her, and he could see tears coming out of her eyes. "I used anything I could find as an outlet," Max explained. "It started out innocent enough. Just a cigarette in the bathroom every once in a while, a beer can I stole from Neil. But over time, it just got worse."'

"The need just kept growing and growing, until I couldn't take it anymore. I needed something, _anything_. So I started hanging out with the stoners, and they helped me. They would let me smoke and drink for free, and just hang out with them. But after a while, they started asking for things. Horrible, _horrible_ things Mike."

She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I would do things for them Mike, I was ashamed. But it was the only thing I could do to mask the pain. It was excruciating."

"Hey," Mike said. "Hey It's ok Max, I don't judge you. I know what it's like. Not to that extent, but I know what it's like to lose someone you love. Maybe you didn't love Lucas romantically, but you still valued him. Being away from El is awful."

" Do you have any way to keep in touch?" Max asked, eager to change the subject.

Mike sighed. "I have their address, so we can write to each other. But it's just not the same. She writes to me so much about her new interests and hobbies. She's changing every single day, and I'm not there to witness it. It sucks, and I don't know, I feel like after a while she might just get bored of me."

Mike had never admitted any of what he had just said out loud, but talking to Max was weirdly calming. She had just poured her heart out to him, so he felt inclined to do the same.

"Mike," Max chuckled. "You can't seriously believe that, can you?"

"What do you mean," he raised his eyebrows.

"Look, I haven't talked to El in a long time, so I guess I really don't know it all. But from what I can tell, that girl will never stop being in love with you."

Mike perked up, "You really think so."

"I _know_ so," Max teased. "She's so in love with you it makes me sick. To her, you're like Clark Kent or something. She looks at you like you're a god. I don't think you have anything to worry about Mike."

He cracked a smile, "Thanks Max, for saying that. Even if it isn't true."

"Oh it's true Wheeler, so you better be in it for the long haul. And when you have your first kid, _I_ better be a godparent. So tell the others they're going to need to wait their turn."

Before Mike could even respond, He heard the very familiar sound of a chevy blazer coming up the street. It used to ring alarm bells in Mike's ears for a very different reason, but he heard it nonetheless.

Him and Max both turned towards each other in wide eyes. Mike desperately searched for Steve and Dustin, but they seemed to have disappeared inside the house. There was a window open on the second level, and they must have snuck in. Which if that was the case, they have a very big problem. Because Chief Reynolds was pulling into his driveway, 30 minutes early.

* * *

May 1st(Clovis. New Mexico)

El woke up the next morning to the sound of Jonathan yelling. This was concerning for multiple reasons. For one, El hadn't even realised she went to bed last night. He and Alice had spent the night in El's room, trading story's and learning more about each other. She decided that she really could consider Alice a friend, as she was pretty understanding of El's situation, and even thought it was cool. Secondly, Jonathan doesn't _yell_, or really speak much in general. He keeps to himself mostly, and very rarely asks for anything.

So when El heard the muffled sounds of Jonathan yelling for Will and El, she immediately knew something was wrong. She looked at Alice, who was sleeping on the floor, and it seemed like she wasn't disturbed. Very carefully, El tiptoed her way out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. When she got to the kitchen, she was met face to face with a very distraught Jonathan and Will, who only looked mildly concerned.

"What's going on?" El asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"What's wrong? Will told me that you guys told two kids about everything that happened back in Hawkins? Are you guys crazy?"

"We didn't have a choice!" Will practically yelled. "They saw El use her powers, it was either that or some stupid lie. Besides, it all worked out. I don't think either of them are going to rat us out."

Jonathan shook his head, and started to pace the room. "You guys don't understand, you could have just put us in danger. Look what I found planted in a bush on our front doorstep."

Jonathan opened his palm, and revealed a small electric circuit. She knew from her time living with Hopper that it was a bug, something used to spy on people.

Will's eyes widened. "How did they find us? There should have been no way for them to track us here!"

"I don't know Will, I really don't know." Jonathan said, looking down. "We need to tell Mom about this. Do you guys know if she's at work?"

Will and El exchanged confused looks. "It's only 630, she goes to work at 7." El explained. "She should be home."

Well, uh, she's obviously not home. Because her car's not in the driveway." Jonathan explained. "Are you sure she's not starting early today or something?

Will suddenly looked panicked. "She went over to Murray's house last night and said she'd be home by 12, what if she didn't make it?"

El wandered over to the kitchen table, where Joyce put the phone number for Murray's just in case. "Here, call this. This is Murray's phone number. Let's just ask him."

Jonathan picked up the phone and dialed the numbers, waiting for a response. Unfortunately, no one seemed to be picking up on the other end.

Jonathan kicked the counter in rage, "Shit! God Dammit!"

"Look," Will reassuringly put his arm around Jonathan. "Let's just go to Murray's house, yeah? We'll all be a little bit late to school, and once we know Mom's safe, we can rest easy."

"Rest easy," Jonathan said, in a bit of a shout. "I found a bug in front of our house, Will. They probably know where we are. They probably have Mom. This is all my fault, I don't know why I always take those late shifts."

Suddenly, El heard two bedroom doors open, and almost simultaneously, Alice and Conner entered the kitchen. "What's going on?" Conner asked, rubbing his eyes.

Will, Jonathan, and El all exchanged nervous glances. Finally, Will spoke up. "We're not too sure where our mom is right now, and she could be in trouble. I recommend you guys leave and pretend you never saw us."

"Uh, I don't recommend them leaving," Jonathan said.

El gave him a questioning glare, "Why not?"

"_Because_," Jonathan said, holding up his hand. "If the government, or the Russians, or whoever planted that bug, then they already know these two went to our house. They're as good as dead if we let them leave."

"Wait, what?" Conner asked, wide eyed.

El filled them in on the events that happened in the morning, including the bug Jontahn found in the front of the house.

Alice shook her head, "We don't want to leave. Take us with you to visit your Mom's friend. We can be late to school, out Mom's not even here right now. She's on a business trip."

Jonathan narrowed his eyes. "Your Mom left two, what, 14? 15 year olds alone while she goes on a business trip?"

Alice shrugged. "It's not anything new to us. Look, we'll both go with you guys, make sure your mom's ok, and then we'll _all _go to school. You can let us know what's happening with the bug thing later."

They all nodded their heads in approval, except Jonathan, who looked like he still couldn't believe Will and El let two random kids into their top secret group. "Fine," Jonathan huffed."Murray lives on the other side of town. It should only take us about ten minutes to get there. Everyone get ready and lets move out."

* * *

As far as beat up apartments go, Murray's was definitely the most beat up El's ever seen, and she traveled to Chicago for God's sake. The complex was fenced in, with graffiti and all sorts of litter surrounding it. Homeless men wandered around the street, and only one lone grocery store neighbored it right across the street.

"Jesus," Conner huffed. "Your friend lives _there_?"

"He's a journalist," Will explained. "He's paranoid the government or some underground agency is going to find him and arrest him for all the information he's released over the years. Pretty sure he owns that whole complex."

"He does," Jonathan confirmed. "That guy never was too fond of neighbors."

Jonathan pulled in front of the comlex, and motioned for everyone to get out. As they made their way towards the door, Jonathan turned towards what looked to be a secret camera to his left.

"Hey Murray?" Jonathan waved. "We're here to see our mom. She didn't come home last night."

They waited, but ultimately received no indication that Murray heard them, or was going to let them in. El walked towards the door then, turning the knob.

"Hey El, get away from there." Jonathan yelled. " It could be booby trapped or something."

But it wasn't. The second El twisted the knob, the door popped open, revealing….

"Oh my God," Will gasped.

The entire place was trashed. Glass was shattered and papers were scattered everywhere. A lone bottle of Vodka along with two glasses sat on a table in the center of the room.

Jonathan put his hands over his head. "This is bad. This is really, _really_ bad."

El wandered around the apartment, looking for clues as to what happened. No blood was scattered anywhere(at least none that she could see) and no signs of life. Will frantically checked some of the rooms, and the other kids began to follow. The way the apartment complex was laid out was that there was a kitchen in the lobby area, along with a TV and couch. All of the rooms, which you could classify as apartments, were all spread out along the hallways. It was only one story and fairly small, but El had to think that Murray paid a pretty large amount of money to buy this place.

As they wandered, the trail got colder and colder. Almost no evidence of anyone being there was present except for in the lobby. Right when El was about to go back to the lobby and check there, Will stumbled into a room decked out in computers. Well, _monitors _as Mike would say. Dozens of monitors lined up along the wall, each showing a different angle or location.

"What the hell," Alice choked. "That's our house there! In the bottom corner."

Sure enough, in the bottom left hand corner, a monitor showed the front of the Cooper household.

"Geez," Will shook his head. "Murray's a stalker.

El's eyes wandered towards the top row of the screens, where one of them appeared to be turned off. "Why is that one black," El pointed.

Everyone turned towards the screen to see what she was looking at. "Jonathan, do you think thats the one that you took out of the bush?" Will asked.

Jonathan took out the bug and studied it. "It could be, I'm really not sure. That's a weird angle for him to be spying at our house."

As El looked around for her house, she spotted it, right next to the black screen. "Our house is next to the balck screen, maybe it is the one Jonathan has."

"Uh Alice," Conner asked, his voice was shaky. "What's going on at our house?"

They all turned their attention back towards the Cooper house, and what El saw made her want to throw up. Dozens of Men in Black suits surrounded the house, some inspecting the outside, some knocking at the door, attempting to get it.

"Shit," Jonathan ran his hand through his hair. "This is bad."

"You said that already," Will snapped, he then turned his attention towards the Byer house. "Mother of God! Are you serious?"

Government agents were lining up outside the Byers household, doing more of the same. Inspecting around the outside and attempting to enter in through the door.

Will turned towards the others. "Well, we're officially screwed."

Jonathan was clearly panicking. "Everyone get in the car, we need to leave."

"We're going?" El asked. "What about Joyce? Where will we even go?"

"El," Will put his hand on her shoulder. "He's right. We need to leave.

El nodded reluctantly, and the rest of the group followed Jonathan back to the car. He turned his key into the ignition and sped off. It was clear to El and everyone else, he had no idea where he was going."

**Yikes. I'm sorry this took so long. I use google docs online to write my stories, and my internet has been out for the last 5 days. I think it's coming back tomorrow, but I'm not totally sure. I'm currently writing this inside a Mcdonalds lol. Besides that, I finally got some Mike and Max interaction going. What do you guys think of her arc so far? Also, there's a reason you're confused about the men in the black suits(I know russians don't wear black suits, trust me, I know.) and theres also a reason why the process of Hopper linking the portals makes no sense. This will all be explained in time, my friends. Catch you on the next one, and feel free to comment if you have questions or concerns. Or really even if you just want to say hi. Thanks! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi everyone….. So I've been gone awhile, lol, and I feel like everyone deserves at least some explanation for why I was gone. As some of you may know, I've had internet problems in the past, but it isn't really why I've been gone for so long. My absence basically stems from 3 things: My girlfriend, Millie Bobby Brown, and Noah Schnapp.**

**First things first, Me and my girlfriend of 2 years decided to call it quits almost a month ago, while I was in the middle of writing this, and it sucked. It's not like I didn't see it coming, she's going to a school on the other side of the country next year, so it was going to be nearly impossible to make it work. We were pretty much forcing each other to be in love the past few months, and that's never healthy. So it was best for that to happen. I was originally going to give myself 2 weeks to clear my head, but quickly 2 became 3, and I honestly got lazy once I fell out of schedule. But I was planning on getting back into it a few weeks ago, until I started to… figure some stuff out.**

**Which leads me to my next point, Millie Bobby Brown. After my girlfriend and I broke up, I started to deep search for stranger things on social media out of boredom. I am telling you that if you're a fan of the actors, don't do this. It honestly ruins your opinions on the people you look up to. This happened to me with Millie, as she was someone I used to admire when it came to acting, and overall how she carries herself as a person. But the further I dug, the more I started to dislike her, and the more she reminded me of the girls at school I used to despise. It's not like it was one big thing that did it for me, but recently her track record, along with recent behavior has led me to not liking her anymore. I just think of my little sister honestly, who's practically her biggest fan, and I hate how she's her role model. It took me a long time to be able to adequately separate her and El from my brain into two separate people, which is another reason why its taken me so long to be able to write. If your a fan of hers and are confused as to what I'm referring to, don't be. I just don't like her and the way she gets influenced, that's a personal issue. **

**My last problem was the whole cancel Noah Schnapp thing on twitter, and at that point I just turned off social media all together. This fandom disappoints me sometimes, and I think that other than reddit, its not good for me to be active in those communities. I've been getting better each day and have been slowly able to write more and more. Thank you for all those people leaving comments, you guys are real ones, and I'm glad you enjoy my story. Schedule should be returning to normal now. :).**

**Also one more thing, I didn't write these things to get pity out of you guys or to make excuses for myself. What I did was pretty unprofessional and I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long. I'm a pretty weird person who gets demotivated very easily, so I'm sorry it stretched all the way to my story. Something as little as a hate comment on social media can get me all out of sorts, which is why it's unhealthy for me to be on there as often as I am.**

**Luna0603 - Glad you enjoyed it! Max and Mike was one of the relationships I've been most eager to explore, so I'm glad I could deliver on that. As for where the kids are heading, let's just say, we are not in Hawkins anymore…(cringe)**

**Xenocide250- Glad you're still enjoying the story. Your continued support is appreciated as always. :)**

**Hperkinsg18 - yeah… that's the problem with OC's in an already established series, it's really hard to make them pop. My intention isn't so that they just join the party and everyone's friends, though. They will prove themselves useful throughout the story. It's just that I don't like the idea of El, Jonathan, and Will being by themselves, I think that would be boring to write tbh. Plus, they have more purpose than I have written just yet, so hang on. I promise you will be satisfied by where they end up in the ending of this series.**

**Stranger Records - Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.**

**Shrike176 - Thanks! It's really fun to write about Mike and Max, seeing as they are two of the most important people in El's life. Joyce is elsewhere, and that will be explained in time. Dustin has always been fascinating to me, and seems more important than the comic relief character many view him as. Yessir, things are about to get really interesting.**

**KenClarkson02- Thank You! I have always liked the plot set up of season one the most, with three groups trying to attack the problem. As for Alice and Conner, I'm not going to say anything in case I ruin the story for you. Just keep reading!**

**Aps131997- Yes, I am totally hoping for a Max and Mike conversation in season 4. Both are really misunderstood in my opinion.**

**Difilt- Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy the three different perspectives. Honestly, it's extremely hard to do, especially with Hopper. As you may have been able to tell, there's not a lot for him to do in certain moments, which makes me write a lot of fille. As for the slower pace, I would rather have every character get an arc/development than for me to rush through my story. I already overshot my mark a long time ago, and most writers will tell you they've written over the mark quite a few times. I'm glad you understand.**

**Guest- Yeah no spoilers, but I think season 4 is going to be about Mike in particular. Seeing him break out into the hero we originally hoped he would be. **

**Guest- Yeah I'm honestly not that good at writing, I just have creative ideas. You'll most likely find a lot of errors in my writing.**

**Guest- I'm sorry! I made you all wait so long :(. I promise they'll be coming out faster from now on.**

May 1st (Hawkins Indiana)

If Mike hadn't made the last second decision to bring his supercom on this mission earlier, Dustin and Steve would be as good as dead. Thankfully, Mike had decided to be safe rather than sorry, and it looked to be paying off.

Mike reached into his backpack and pulled out his supercom. Once he pulled the antennae up, he switched over to Dustin's channel and called out to him.

"Dustin! Dustin! You need to get out of there man, Reynolds is home! Over." It was a desperate call, but it seemed to be their only chance. Their only saving grace was that Chief Renyolds was taking a long time to get out of his car. He seemed to be finishing up a call or something.

After an excruciatingly long 30 seconds, Dustin finally called back. "Mike, We found the camera! You were right man, Reynolds was the mole!.

Mike was right? Before he could decide how he felt about that, Max stole the supercom away from him. "Dustin you idiot. You need to leave now, Reynolds is about to be on your ass in less than a minute!"

Him and Max listened to the silent crackle of the supercom until Dustin finally spoke up. "You see, the problem with that is…. We may or may not be stuck in the basement."

"You what?" Mike and Max practically shouted into the supercom.

"His basement connects to his garage," Dustin explained carefully. "If we leave now, he's definitely going to see us."

"He's going to see you regardless," Mike said. "You need to run."

If what Dustin was saying was correct, then Renyolds was going to see that they opened the door either way. A guy as skeptical as Reynolds was going to know they were parading through his stuff. After all, Dustin and Steve weren't exactly known for their stealth.

More crackle noise came through the supercom, and suddenly the voice on the other end changed. "Mike? What the hell are you guys doing?" Mike hadn't heard the voice in weeks, but he was sure who he had heard. It was Lucas.

"Lucas?" Mike asked, a fit of rage and confusion overwhelming him. "Why are you on this channel? We're busy."

"Busy doing something stupid. You're lucky I've been listening, I'm about to save your ass."

Before Mike could even respond, He caught a glimpse of a car blazing down the street. Oddly enough, the car looked a lot like Mike's station wagon back home. And they were the only family in Hawkins with that car, which meant the person driving it had to be…..

"Nancy," Mike thought out loud.

The station wagon pulled up to the Chief's house, much to his surprise. Reynolds took his glasses off, and stared down the car, which was slowly coming to a stop in front of his house. While he was distracted, Mike and Max seized the opportunity and moved within earshot of Chief Reynolds.

Nancy pulled the station wagon over on the side of the road, and exited the car along with Lucas.

"_So I guess he wasn't lying,"_ Mike thought in his head. For whatever reason, Lucas had been listening in on their calls from earlier.

Chief Renyolds casually lit a new cigarette as Nancy and Lucas approached him. "Wheeler, Sinclair. To what do I owe this pleasure."

Lucas looked like he was searching around for something, until he finally made eye contact with Mike. His eyes just about lit up like a christmas tree, and luckily Nancy started talking to the Chief. Otherwise, they most definitely would have been found.

"Lucas's sister is missing," Nancy explained. "They were supposed to bike home together after school, but she never showed up."

Just then, Mike sensed movement coming from the corner of his eye. He turned toward the garage to see Dustin and Steve had made it up the basement steps, and were now slowly making their way across the garage.

Chief Renyolds put his lighter away, and took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Little sister, huh? Well you know rather than showing up at my house, it's very acceptable to just go to the police station and let my colleagues handle this, right? I'm off shift for the night."

Steve and Dustin were almost all the way across the garage. It was almost too perfect, really.

Almost too perfect.

Just as Dustin and Steve were inches away from getting out of the garage, Dustin made the mistake of walking too fast, and made a quiet yet very audible noise of him squeaking his shoes.

It was just enough for the Chief to look over his shoulder and see what was going on. Steve and Dustin were caught red handed mid crouch, holding a massive polaroid camera.

Chief Renolyds wasted no time and drew his gun from its holster. Only Nancy was faster, drawing a revolver from her back pocket.

"Well well well," The Chief chucked. "Look what we have here."

"Drop your gun," Nancy nodded towards him

The Chief just laughed, tossing his gun in the direction of Mike and Max. "You can come out now Wheeler, I saw you before I even pulled up into my house. You're not slick.

Max and Mike shared a confused look, coming out from the bushes. Mike made sure to grab the gun before he joined the group over on the driveway. It was an awkward standoff, no one knowing quite what to say. Luckily, Dustin was always good for a tension breaker.

"Well we caught you fucker," He said, holding up the polaroid camera, along with a few identical cartridges. "You're the mole."

Chief Reynolds chuckled, "The mole? Son, you have no idea what you're talking about." But the Chief couldn't stop Dustin from continuing. "This polaroid camera has been isn't American made. We found an exact copy of your cartridges at Hoppers old cabin, since someone was taking pictures. You're working for the Russians, just admit it."

The Chief laughed again, and Nancy tensed up on the trigger. It seemed as if she was getting impatient, and Mike really was not in the mood to test that patience. Before he could say anything though, Steve beat him to the punch, literally. He stepped towards Renolyds and knocked the bigger man onto the ground.

"You son of a bitch," Steve said, grabbing the Chiefs shirt. "Tell us who you're working for, or that girls going to pull the trigger. And if she doesn't, me and my friends are going to beat the shit out of you, so talk!

The Chief spit some saliva out to his side, and stood to face them all. "Well, I figured you guys would be on to it eventually. It's really a shame we didn't get to execute plan B though."

"Plan B?" Lucas asked.

The Chief waved it off. In his eyes, he looked defeated. "I work for, let's just say a third party organization. An organization tasked with finding that girl of yours." The Chief nodded towards Mike. "We figured she would show up here eventually, and when I found her, I was supposed to contact my superiors. Only they left so fast we weren't able to capture her."

So much information just flew over Mike's head. This guy just admitted he was a fraud, and that he was tasked with finding El from the very beginning.

"Sounds like you're not very good at your job," Dustin pointed out. The Chief laughed again, which was really starting to get annoying."My job wasn't to capture her, it was to stall you idiots long enough for our plan to be put in action. If she came to me that's just a bonus. I was supposed to make you feel unsafe, get you out of your comfort zone.

"So the labs underneath Hawkins?," Dustin asked.

" They belonged to one of our allies," The Chief explained. "When they saw you kids wandering around near them, they abandoned them. Hawkins is nothing but a memorial at this point."

"A memorial?" Max asked.

"It's done," The Chief explained. "We have everything we need. So much to the point that my job here is done. I've just been here the last few months slowing you idiots down."

Mike didn't like how smug the Chief was being. Almost like he expected this to happen.

"Were not idiots," Mike explained. "We know about the doomsday, about how our world is going to merge with theirs. We want to know how to stop it."

The Chief shook his head, and gave them a smile. "Stop it? You can't stop what's about to happen, Mike Wheeler. You're supposed to be a brilliant strategist. Even you should have known this was all for not."

Mike gritted his teeth. He really, _really _didn't like Chief Renyolds.

"We know there's a source," Dustin explained to him. "We know if we shut down the source, the other portals should start to close, and earth's electromagnetic field will return to normal."

"And?" the Chief said, eager for Dustin to continue.

"And we would like to know where the source is?" Dustin went on. "So maybe we can stop whatever demonic ritual you guys have planned."

The Chief looked Dustin straight in the eyes. "I think you know where the source is boy. How you get to it will be the real problem."

"So the source is in Russia, isn't it?" Mike cut in. He was losing patience with this guy.

The Chief nodded grimly. "Indeed it is. But rather than telling you there's hope, or that you might actually have a chance of stopping us, I'm just going to end my service with you all. My duty has been fulfilled.

Before anyone could stop him, Chief Renyolds took a pocket knife out of his pocket. And in one quick stroke, slit his own throat. Blood pooled around his body as he cried and thrashed, yet the only thing that stood out to Mike was how content he looked while he was dying, almost like he was glad it was all over.

"Fuck!" Steve yelled, moving quickly away from the pool of blood that was starting to get on his shoes.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Dusting screamed. "He's dead, he just killed himself!"

Mike barely even reacted. He couldn't stop staring at the Chief's face. The look of pleasure filled Mike with disgust.

"We need to move the body," explained Nancy, seemingly the only one who wasn't shocked. "We can't have the police thinking we were the ones that killed him."

Slowly but surely everyone snapped out of their trance, and started moving in rhythm to dispose of the body. With all their experience doing weird shit, cleaning up a body wasn't too hard. Lucas and Dustin went inside to grab some towels, while Steve and Nancy carried the body out into the basement. Mike really hoped old man Thompson wasn't watching out his window right now.

Eventually everyone started to get over what had just happened, and were finally able to make sense out of what just happened.

Once her and Steve finished storing the body, she turned to Mike for an explanation. "Spill Mike. I haven't heard from you in days and then I find out you're breaking into the Chiefs home. Who just happened to be some sort of agent. What on earth did you guys get yourselves wrapped into?"

So Mike filled in Nancy and Lucas on what had transpired over the last few days. From Dustin finding the map in the tunnels to the polaroid cartridge they had found all those months ago. He even told her of Dustin's suspicion of an eventual doomsday. He then went on to explain his suspicions of the corrupt police department, and the conclusion they came up with that finding the source may be the only way to stop the doomsday.

The entire time Nancy and Lucas remained quiet. Until Lucas finally spoke up. "So, what? You guys go yourself stuck in some deep shit yet again? When will you learn?."

"Oh, suck a dick Lucas," Dustin said angrily." You know we're the only ones that know about this stuff."

"What about Doc Owens and the US government? What about Joyce? Theirs people who handle this stuff Dustin. People are much more capable than us."

"Well you see Lucas, there's this thing called 'taking initiative' and 'responsibility'. Two words you tend to ignore quite often."

"Stop it!" Max yelled, rubbing her temples. "You guys are giving me a headache."

Both boys turned to her and murmured an apology, though Lucas kept his gaze on Max a little longer.

She turned to Lucas," Look Lucas, not that we didn't appreciate Nancy and you helping us, but why are you here?"

He shuffled his feet uncomfortably, "I was about to leave for track practice when I heard voices coming from my supercom. I heard about you guys staging a break in at Chief Renyolds house, so I called Nancy and we came over to stop it."

"Well, It wasn't supposed to be a break in." Mike explained. "Steve and Dustin had different ideas."

Steve shrugged, "Duty calls."

Nancy shook her head at Mike. "It was still stupid, Mike. If you suspected something you should have told me first."

"I know, I know," Mike put his hands up. "I'm sorry. But with the doomsday happening we all felt responsible.

Just as Mike said the word doomsday, a current of wind came through and ruffled some sticks present on the Chiefs driveway. As Mike looked up, and was disappointed to see what he had expected. Dark, thick storm clouds hung over their heads, almost like they were waiting to let hell loose on them. Off in the distance, red lightning flashed across the sky,

People in Hawkins had been calling it a weather phenomenon, and it had even gained the attention of the national news. Even though it was gaining attention, Mike felt like people weren't taking it nearly as serious as they should be.

Nancy cleared her throat, and Mike's attention snapped back to his sister.

"We can talk about this tomorrow," Nancy explained. "First things first, me and Steve laid the body out so it'll look like the Chief committed suicide. As long as there were no witnesses, the police should have no idea we were here."

She sighed. "Second thing is, once you all are done with school tomorrow, we need to meet and discuss what we're going to do about this doomsday. I can maybe try to contact Doc Owens, but-"

"It's too late for that," Dustin shook his head. "The world is going to destroy itself if we don't do something quick. Look at the sky! This is like something straight out of a comic book!"

"I at least need to try," Nancy said firmly. "Whether you guys like it or not though, this is our responsibility now. We need to figure out how to stop this thing. I found some paperwork in Chief Renyolds basement, and I'm going to try and find out more about this third party organization."

They all nodded in agreement. Even Lucas looked calm and content, eager to help them save the day. Even if they had their agreements, they were still the party. Forever and always.

* * *

May 1st(New Mexico)

"Doesn't this thing go any faster?" Connor yelled from next to El, as eager as she was to leave Clovis.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Jonathan yelled back. "It's not like I have nitrous or anything! This isn't a video game!"

They had been driving at max speed since they had left Murray Baumans apartment complex, driving as fast as they could to avoid the government agents that were surely on their tail.

Everyone was tense. Will had barely said a word, Alice and Connor couldn't stop shaking, and El felt like she was going to be sick. It was bringing back memories to the last time they were being chased, almost three years ago in Hawkins Indiana. Only that time they were on bikes. And she had Mike to hang onto, who was always good in a crisis.

"When's the next exit?" Jonathan said to Will, who was petrified next to him.

"You're asking me?" Will said. "I don't know!"

Jonathan eventually found an exit that put them right on the freeway, and finally El started to relax. It was going to be nearly impossible for the agents to find or catch them with hundreds of cars masking their scent. Slowly but surely, they started to drift farther and farther away from Clovis. Hours went by without anyone saying a word, until Connor finally spoke up.

"So this is a problem," he pointed out.

"No shit." Alice glared at him. "So what's even the plan here, we just keep driving?"

"Yep," Jonathan said. He seemed to have calmed down a little bit. His grip loosened on the steering wheel, and he seemed a lot less stressed. "We can't let those guys catch us."

"We need help." El said. "Joyce and Murray are gone. We should call Hawkins."

"They're thousands of miles away," Will explained. "Even if they did come, which they probably would, then what? They have mom. They're not going to stop until they have you too."

"Well can these friends of yours help us?" Alice asked, "Because at this point I think we need to consider our options. We can keep driving to… wherever… Or we could contact people who could help us. You don't think the police could help us?"

"The police are paid by the government." Jonathan said. "They'll turn us in the first chance they get."

"I don't even understand why the government is going after El." Will said. "We're cool with Doc Owens. I don't see why he'd try and screw us over."

"There's different divisions within the government most likely." Jonathan explained. "Just because Doc Owens is cool with a telekinetic girl roaming around doesn't mean everyone is going to be. Maybe someone tipped off some of the people back in Hawkins lab."

"Like the bad men?" El asked. El hadn't thought about it in a long time, but she supposed there was still a chance the bad men were out there. Kali and her gang in Chicago thought they were still a threat the last time El saw them, so they could still be capable of tracking her down. Even worse, there was still a possibility Papa could be out there.

"Like the bad men," Jonathan confirmed. "It'll be ok El. Let's just keep driving west and I'll make some calls once I fill up on gas and we'll see what we can do. We just have to keep moving."

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Jonathan didn't really know what to do, but he was the calming presence they all needed. El needed to be told things would be ok, even if they weren't.

"What about Mom?" Will asked. "We can't just leave her Jonathan. She could be hurt."

"I want her back as much as you can Will. But unless you put a hidden GPS tracker on her, I don't know how we can find her. If we can just get into contact with Doc Owens, maybe he can help us find her."

"I mean you didn't put a tracker onto her or anything." Connor said. "But we have a human GPS right here."

Suddenly, El felt all the eyes in the car turn to her. She looked at them sadly. "I don't think I can do it. The last time I did it was in December. And that was an accident."

"What about the bath," Will asked.

El furrowed her eyebrows, "What about the bath?"

"Mike said when you tried to find me upside down, you used the bath. A sensory deprivation tank. Isn't that how they trained you at the lab?"

"Yes," El confirmed. "But it was only to get used to my powers. It's like using four wheels to start learning how to ride a bike. Once I can use two wheels, I don't go back to four."

"Remember what my mom said about strokes?" Alice said. "It's almost like you have to reteach yourself how to use your muscles. Like you're going back to using four wheels. Maybe if you put the training wheels back on…."

"She can get the hang of her powers again." Jonathan said. "That could be it. If you feel comfortable doing it that is, El."

El didn't know how she felt. She just came into terms with the bad men coming after her again, and now she was going to have to go back into the bath? This wasn't how she expected today to go.

Despite her anxiety, El shrugged. "I can try. I don't know if it's going to work. But I can try."

That was all everyone needed to hear. For the next four hours, the car plotted out how they were going to build the tank, until Jonathan finally pulled into a gas station, They must have traveled across the entire state, because they were right next to a "Welcome to Arizona" sign.

The sun was on the cusp of setting, meaning there weren't many cars on the road currently. By the looks of it, Jonathan had pulled into a total ghost town. He took the keys out of the cars ignition and turned to El and Alice. Will was currently asleep in the front sleep, as was Connor in the back.

"I'm going to see if they sell kitty pools and salt. I think I saw a hose out back. Whatever you guys do, don't leave the car. If anyone looks suspicious yell for me to come."

They nodded, and with one last look, Jonathan disappeared into the gas station, leaving Alice and El virtually alone.

They sat together in awkward silence until El finally spoke up, "I'm sorry Alice."

Alice turned towards El and gave her a confused look, "What are you sorry for,"

"This," El gestured around her body. "I pulled you and your brother into this when I shouldn't have. Everyone I've let into my life I've ended up hurting. I'm sorry it happened to you too."

Alice chuckled, "It's not like it's your fault you were born in a lab, raised to use your powers like a weapon. You didn't choose to have government agents chase after you. In fact, my life was pretty boring until I met you. I'm probably going to miss my algebra test tomorrow because I'm on the run. So that's a positive.

El stared at her. "How can you be so calm?"

Alice shrugged. "For some reason I always had a feeling my life was a movie. Girl with superpowers chased by government agents. Sounds like something I'd watch at the movies."

"What about you mom?" El asked. "Aren't you worried they're going to get her?"

Alice sighed. "Honestly El, I haven't been completely honest with you. My mom isn't around much."

"What do you mean?"

"She's a surgeon, and works in Albuquerque for weeks on end. She leaves me and Connor alone a lot. I haven't seen her in days."

"Who looks after you then?" El asked.

"We have a house maid that comes in the morning to get us ready for school, but that's pretty much it. My mom will get a call saying me and Conner are missing, and probably won't even come home. I don't think she ever even wanted kids."

"I'm sorry," El said.

Alice shrugged. "I'm over it. She doesn't want to be in our life, fine by me. When I'm 18 I'm going to take some of her money and move back to Texas. Maybe then she'll be pleased I'm finally gone for good."

They sat silently until Jonathan came back, "Good news. They actually had a kiddie pool, bad news, they didn't sell salt."

"What does the salt even do?" Alice asked.

"It helps her float," Jonathan explained. "The point of the tank is to lose complete control of your body. Hippies used to get high in the 70's and float around for government research. Point is, I don't know if it's going to work without salt."

"She did it in the pool, maybe she can do it again?" Alice suggested.

"I hope so," Jonathan agreed.

* * *

About an hour later, the kiddie pool was fully assembled, and all 5 of them were gathered around it. El stripped down to just her bra and panties, earning curious glares from Connor that were immediately met by Will's evil glare. She tied her tee shirt in a knot over her eyes, acting like a bandana of sorts, and climbed into the pool.

"Remember El." Conner yelled out. "Think of Joyce and how much you love her, how much you want to find her. And if it doesn't work on the first try, don't worry about it."

El smiled gratefully at him. She pulled the bandana over her eyes and slowly began to float in the pool.

She concentrated on how much she wanted to find Joyce. All the good things she'd done for El. She gave her a home after Hopper's supposed death, gave her new clothes and treated her as one of her own. Even if El always felt like an outsider in the Byers family, she always appreciated how much Joyce tried to make her feel welcome. El wanted to find her. She _needed _to find her.

And suddenly, El was in the void. Their stupid kiddie pool idea actually worked, and el couldn't believe it. Off in the distance was a city, one surrounded by storm clouds as red lightning flashed across the skyline. She needed to get a closer look.

As she began to move closer, she heard a muffled voice come from above, "Did it work? Is she in?"

"It worked." El said out loud

She faintly heard cheering above her, and continued on her path to the city. She couldn't quite pinpoint the location, as it was much different than anywhere she had been before. Big buildings rose above the streets, but a number of small buildings accompanied it. Birds flew along what looked to be water on one side of the city, and El saw a faint light leading her to the middle of the city.

She followed it until she saw what looked to be letters on the front of the building, spelling out "USA disease control facility, Seattle Washington."

El had seen enough. Staying in the void this long was seriously draining her, and she needed to leave. In a clean motion, El slid the bandana off her head, and she broke her trance, returning to the real world.

She was immediately met with four pairs of eyes staring at her. Will was the first to break the silence. "Well, did it work?"

El gave him a small smile," USA disease control facility. Seattle Washington."

"Seattle?" Jonathan asked. "What the hell are they doing there?"

El shrugged," That's where it took me. I didn't get to see her."

"So their all the way in fucking Seattle, go figure," Jonathan shook his head. "Look, El probably needs to rest. I have some money in the car, so we can probably get two motel rooms at this place up the street. I'm going to make some calls in the morning to see what we can do. Whatever you do, don't jump to conclusions."

Alice started to help El get her clothes back on, to try and warm her up, but El was still shaking. Something about the red lighting and storm clouds freaked El out. It reminded her too much of Billy back in Hawkins. The power felt ancient, almost evil.

"Hey," Alice said, putting her arm around El's shoulder. "You ok?"

El smiled. "Never better."

**Wow, I finally finished this. Before I get into some notes I first need to explain some stuff. I know a lot of you are going to be upset about Chief Renyolds dying so early, but it was always supposed to be this way. Chief Renyolds was a puppet serving a greater job being a distraction, and was working for a cause he believed in. A cause we're going to see a lot more of later. Now that that's out of the way, I just wanted to apologize one last time. I hope you guys are still here, because I still am. I actually received so many dm's concerned about my health and overall well being, and it made me so sad seeing people worried. I never wanted to be that fanfiction writer that disappears for long periods of time. I want to leave you guys more informed in the future, so I want some suggestions. I could create a twitter/instagram/tumbler informing you guys? There would probably only be like 10 of you following it assuming you're even still here, but it could help me get into contact with people easier. Let me know what you think of that. Lastly, please don't send hate comments :(. I know I'm a piece of shit, self centered asshole that let a lot of you down, but I'm more aware of it than you could ever realise. I'll be better, just do me a favor and don't spread negativity. **

**Thank you all for sticking around :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**So with my update last week I forgot to mention one little thing, I actually went on vacation for a week and a half at Las Vegas lol. I completely forgot I was going and was totally caught off guard. Good news, I have almost nothing to do now until I head out to college, so expect weekly updates from now till September 7th. Then, I'm not really sure what's going to happen. I'd like to think I won't change in college and keep writing for fun, but I don't really know. Updates will probably slow. I'll try my best though**

**Also, follow my instagram account flintflamez. If you guys want to be updated on what's going on with writing. I'll try and give an update every few days.**

**Xenocide250- Glad you understand. Thank you for the constant support. Yeah, the Chief was always supposed to die early so I;m glad people were ok with that. Lucas above all is loyal, and when his friends are doing something stupid, he'll always help them out. I admire his character. Yeah, the whole Joyce, Murray thing will make sense in a bit, so hang on tight. The cancel Noah Schnapp thing just makes me cringe. I'm glad it's faded away. **

**Jbg- I'm glad you understand, that means a lot to me. I came into terms with myself that if people are going to stop reading just because I miss a week or two, then that sucks for them. They can finish it on their own time. It's just so exciting when your story gains traction and it sucks when you lose it, but I'll get better at being more consistent. This is my first time writing an actual story for this website, so I appreciate someone with experience reaching out. Also, I'm glad you liked the Chief's death. It's something I've been planning for a while now.**

**Tover gardingle - No problem, thanks for actually sticking around :)**

**Guest- Glad you liked it! A reunion may or may not be in the works…..**

**Shrike176- Thank you for sticking around! We will see about El and Mike. Something tells me they have to endure some more trials on their own first.**

**Luna0603- I really appreciate your constant support, it means more than you think.I definitely agree that mental health is priority number one, and can really affect more than your writing if you get overwhelmed. Things are heating up, and I'm really excited to keep pumping out content for you guys.**

**Aps131997- Really appreciate your support as always. I'm glad theres good and encouraging people in this community like yourself, it means more than you'll ever know. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well.**

May 2nd(Kamchatka Russia)

Cold. Wet. Dark. There really weren't enough adjectives to describe The Upside Down. Ever since Hopper had entered the portal back in Hawkins around 2 and a half years ago, he couldn't get the feeling of the rotting atmosphere out from under his skin. Even after all of his expeditions he had done for the Russians over the past 4 months, he never got over the initial terror of the other dimension. The fear was still there, just hidden beneath his metal suit and large helmet.

So you can imagine that traveling from Russia all the way to Seattle wasn't at the top of Hopper's christmas list. But he needed to do it. It was the only way to find El, and the only way to somehow warn the US of the Russians plans. What plans, people may ask? He doesn't quite know. But he's smart enough to realise that "linking" two portals can't mean that the two countries will be forming a friendly truce. The Russians want to use the Upside down as some sort of portal, one capable of mass destruction.

Traveling eight hours across a barren wasteland was very ok with Hopper, as long as he lives to tell the tale. Getting out of Russia has been his main priority from the very beginning, and finally being able to accomplish that was more than he could ever ask for. He had been stuck for almost a year, and they were giving him a golden opportunity to get out. He wasn't going to fall now.

Hopper had left the compound hours ago, and hadn't even uttered much of a goodbye to the General or any of the scientists. They had treated him well enough he supposed, but he was still a prisoner above all else. No need to thank the people who were the reason he was there in the first place. They had prepared him as much as they could, by offering some food and water which was stored in his backpack, and a simple harpoon gun to defend himself. Hopper had never even fired a harpoon gun. So if he was jumped by one of those creatures, he was most likely dead.

He had broken into his small rations about an hour ago, and if he had to guess, he was getting closer to reaching the city of Seattle. He could make out the ocean wall across from him, and once he got over that, it was only a matter of walking straight for a number of miles until he reached the city.

Before he knew it, Hopper had reached the wall and was ready to leave the ocean floor. The harpoon gun the Russians gave him worked sort of like a grappling hook, and Hopper was able to use it to scale the wall with ease. Despite being a prisoner, Hopper was the most fit he had ever been in his life. The constant missions did a number on his body, so scaling a wall was nothing to him.

Once he was over the wall, he could see the city of Seattle in the distance. Like the General had told him before, the distance in the Upside Down was different than the distance in his world. The scaling ratio wasn't exactly 1:1, so traveling from Russia to Seattle did not take as long as it normally would, not even close. If he had to guess, Seattle normally wasn't this close to the coast either.

Hopper strolled through neighborhoods en route to his final destination. He has passed a number of houses and stores which would most likely be open in his dimension, but here were reduced to eroding metal held together by a few pieces of wood. He figured it was in his best interest to not focus too much on the architecture around him and to keep walking.

Once he had finally reached the city, or at least the downtown district of it, he was surprised to see that most of the buildings were intact. Sure, they had their fair share of broken windows and rotting wood. But all the buildings seemed to be in one piece.

Off in the distance sat a smaller building, one that looked similar to a convention center, It was built low, not nearly as tall as it's neighbors that were surrounding it. But it caught Hopper's eye considering it had a faint glow to it. He figured it had to be what he was looking for.

Carefully, Hopper made his way through the downtown district. He figured if he was going to run into one of those creatures, it was going to be here. It was a wide open street, similar to Time Square back in New York.

Despite his worries, Hopper made it to the building with ease. The top of the building looked like it had a name, but he couldn't make it out. He figured he would always have a chance to look at it in their dimension, preferably under better circumstances. He pushed through the double doors, and made his way into the building. From there, he followed the trail of light present on the floor, which he figured must lead to the portal. Many staircases and a lot of doors later, Hopper had finally made it to the portal.

He slid his backpack off his body and slowly started to sift through it. Eventually, he found the breakers. The idea was that once Hopper was on the other side of the portal, he would throw the breakers back into the Upside Down. He wasn't familiar with what that was supposed to do, but he knew damn well he wasn't doing that. If he could prevent total Russian domination over the US, he'd do it every single time. Even if it meant dying for it.

Hopper threw the breakers directly into the wall, effectively smashing them to pieces. He saw a spark of electricity course through them, and a small explosion erupted between the two breakers. Satisfied with the results, Hopper bgan to walk into the portal.

He may never see El again because of what he just did, or Joyce for that matter. But he felt like he did the right thing. Was he a hero? No. But in his heart he will always be an American.. That was never going to change.

Without looking back, Hopper serged through the portal, cutting through the layers of skin holding it together. When he finally made it to the other side, he was greeted immediately with a dozen soldiers. His vision was too blurred to make anybody out, but judging by how aggressive they were being with him, he wasn't necessarily seen as an ally.

"Throw him in the hole," He heard a vaguely familiar voice say to the guards. "Make sure he doesn't escape,"

Hopper didn't even have the energy to break through the grasp of the guards as he was being taken away. He barely even had energy to think. His vision was distorted and he was super nauseous, as if he could throw up any second.

As he was being taken away though, one very key thing passed through his mind. It's as if these people didn't even expect him to throw the breakers into the portal.

Some way or another Hopper was set up.

* * *

May 2nd(Hawkins Indiana)

Mike woke up early in the morning panting and dripping sweat. He had had a nightmare that felt like just minutes before. Ever since the Chief's death, images have plagued his mind. The puncture wound in his neck, the look of satisfaction as he killed himself, the laughter written all over his face. He had mocked them. They had come up with this diabolical plan and he had just _mocked _them. So it didn't come as a surprise when Mike's dreams were nightmarish.

He got off his bed and took off his shirt, since it was dripping with sweat, and took a look at the clock on his nightstand. The time read 5:30, 30 minutes before they had a meeting scheduled. Originally Mike and all the kids had wanted to meet after school, but Nancy had insisted that they talk in the morning. Something about their thoughts being fresher in the morning? Whatever the reason for it was, Mike wasn't a happy camper.

He casually threw on a new shirt, and took a look at himself in the mirror. His skin was deathly pale, and his shaggy black hair had only gotten longer over the months. His eyes were bloodshot which made him look like a zombie from Day of the Dead, but he could care less at this point. He had no one to impress.

The only thing throwing off his morning routine was a constant buzz going off in his head. It's something that had been active in him since he had heard El days ago. He thought he was just catching the flu or something, but whatever it was wasn't affecting the rest of his body.

But for whatever reason, the buzz was ten times worse today. His head continued to throb until Mike was forced onto his bed. It was like having the worst hangover ever, only doubled. Before he could control himself, he felt his eyes rolling back into his head, and could feel himself begin to pass out from exhaustion.

Then, all at once, the buzzing had stopped. Mike opened his eyes, and sighed a breath of relief when he saw himself still present in his room. He stood up from his bed and gasped at what he saw. His fully unconscious body was still on the bed, and Mike was in an entire other body outside his original. It was like he was a ghost.

Mike started to panic. Was he dead? Had he really had a sickness that just caught up with him. He knew he should have went to the doctor immediately, it wasn't smart to walk around with a sickness.

Though all his worries and anxieties melted away when he heard a voice speak from behind him. "Mike," he heard a soft voice say.

Mike turned 180 degrees to find himself face to face with… El.

She was taller since the last time he saw her, maybe by an inch. Her chocolate brown hair was now well past the middle of her back, flowing past her shoulders. She was curvier almost, yet very skinny. She was wearing one of Hopper's old flannels, which was nothing new. Only it looked dirty and tattered.

In other words, she was the most beautiful person Mike had ever seen, and he was at a loss for words that he was seeing her.

"El…." Mike gasped. "What is this? Is it really you."

"It's me." she glanced at herself self-consciously. As for what this is… I don't really know."

"Your powers," Mike suddenly realised. "We're in the void, aren't we?"

"I don't know." She admitted. "It's like the void, but we're at your home."

Mike suddenly felt self conscious.. It's not like El had never seen his room before, that wasn't even close to being true. There's just something about having his girlfriend in his room that really grinds his gears..

He snapped out of his trance. El was obviously here for a reason.

"What's wrong," Mike asked. "How are you using your powers?"

El held up her hands, as if studying them. "We met some friends that helped me figure it out. They compared it to a … seizure? Said I needed to relearn. I went back to the bath."

Mike suddenly had more than a couple questions for her. Who were these friends? Was there a guy? Was he better looking and more handsome than Mike?

She seemed to sense his insecurities, because she reached over and grabbed his hand. It wasn't quite the same as regular contact, but it did the job. Almost like a buzzing sensation all over Mike's own hand.

"Our friends helped me get them back, sort of." El explained. "But I'm still weak. I called because I need your help."

She removed her hand from his, and placed it on his cheek. "The bad men, they took Joyce and Murray. We tracked them down to Seattle, but they're following us. It's only a matter of time until they catch up to us. I don't want you to get hurt. But we need your help. I don't trust anyone more than you."

Mike put his hands on her shoulders. "What do you need me to do?"

She went over to Mike's window and opened it up. Mike followed reluctantly as she pointed up at the sky. "Do you see it?"

The sky was still dark, but Mike had no trouble seeing what she was talking about. Here in the void, it was quite clear. Black storm clouds crowded the sky, and red lighting flashed in the sky. This had been happening in Hawkins for a while, but nothing to this magnitude.

"This is like Will's drawing." Mike pointed out. "The clouds, the lighting… He's here, isn't he?

El pursed her lips, "I don't know. But this energy… I recognize it. Like the demogorgon. Hawkins is dangerous and you need to is going on, the answer is in Seattle, I know it."

"Dustin found this map," Mike explained. "It showed all the places in the world like Hawkins, with high electromagnetic waves. Seattle was one of them. You think Seattle is the answer?"

"It has to be," El said. "Joyce and Murray are there, and we need to save them. Leave Hawkins Mike, it's not safe. Drive to Seattle and meet us there. It's the only way."

Mike didn't even hesitate. "I promise. Give us three days, we'll be there."

El smiled, her eyes looked sad. "I love you Mike, stay safe. I need to leave you for now, and I don't know when we can speak again. We can beat it this time, I know we can.

With a final kiss on the cheek, El vanished into thin air. Mike was all but thrown back into his body, and started panting. After he got his bearings, he looked over at his alarm clock, and the time read 5.55.

It was time to have a meeting.

* * *

"So El has another one of these weird dreams, and now you're involved?" Dustin asked. "This shit never stops."

"The point I'm trying to make here, is that we're in danger." Mike said. "El's in danger, and Joyce is in danger. Whatever is going on here, the answers in Seattle."

"How can we be sure?" Max asked. "Just because Joyce is in Seattle doesn't mean the answer is in Seattle."

"Well, you got any other ideas red? Because it's not looking too good here in Hawkins, and Wheeler's girlfriend is in danger in Seattle. If we don't go with him, he's going to steal a car and go by himself." Steve said.

"We can't just leave and go to Seattle." Lucas shook his head. "We have our family's, school, responsibility's-"

"Who said you were even invited Lando?" Dustin snapped. "Maybe it would be better if you just stayed here where it's _safe._

"Hey, I really don't need to be taking shit from _you _Dustin-

"Everyone shut up!" Nancy yelled. She was eagerly sitting in front of the tv, as if she was waiting for an announcement.

They all gathered around the tv screen and were shocked at what they were hearing.

"_Hawkins residents need to be evacuated immediately to a nearby county, as a freak superstorm has gathered above the city. _" the reporter announced. "_Residents have been reporting red lightning strikes all across the city, and Hawkins has now been notified that it will need to be evacuated."_

Nancy turned off the tv. "El was right, something's happening. Red lighting strikes and a city wide evacuation? Somethings not right."

"The doomsday," Dustin muttered. "It's starting. Just like I said. If Seattle's our only chance, we need to go."

"What about our parents?" Max said. "Lucas is right. They'll be worried sick."

"This is bigger than them." Mike said. "Don't you get it? Out of the entire united states, we're the only ones with a slight chance of stopping… whatever this is. For some fucked up reason, were the only chance our country has."

"Maybe not…." Nancy mumbled.

"Mike! Nancy! Pack up your things kids, were being evacuated!

The group looked at each other one last time.

"If you want to help save the world, you need to be all in." Mike explained. "We need everyone. By ourselves, were nothing. But as a group? No one can stop us.

Dustin was the first to nod his head, signaling that he was in. Steve mumbled something about the Video Store being destroyed anyways, so he was in. Max was tentative, but nodded her head yes. Lastly, Lucas remained.

Mike wasn't sure how much he could trust Lucas. He has abandoned them after the camping incident, and four months later here he was. However, if he was all in, there was nobody Mike would rather have watching his back.

Lucas pursed his lips, and nodded his head. "I'm tired of running. We need to end this once and for all. Whoever these guys are, the Russians, the United states government, they need to pay. If we're all the worlds got, them we're going to do our best.

The group smiled. "Do you still have that van Steve? The one you borrowed from your cousin?"

Steve sighed. "Yeah, I still have the keys anyway. He doesn't drive the thing anymore, since he's going to drug rehab. I should be able to take it and fit you shitheads in it no problem."

The plan was starting to come together. "I don;t know what you guys are going to tell your parents, but do what you need to do. Steve, think you can be ready in an hour?" Mike asked.

"Shouldn't be an issue. But Wheeler, what are you going to tell your parents? You and Nancy both disappearing? They're not going to like that."

"Leave it to me." Nancy said. She'd been quiet for a while, not saying much during their planning phase. She was locked deep in thought.

The kids dispersed from the Wheeler basement, and Mike and Nancy trudged upstairs. His mom was frantically pacing the house, stuffing anything and everything into her suitcase. Mike's dad was watching Holly, and was already packed himself.

"Let me talk to them," Nancy whispered. "Go pack what you think you need."

Mike quickly raced up the stairs into his room. He wasn't sure what to put in his pack pack, so he ended up bringing a little of everything. He packed El's scrapbook, some clothes, a lighter he stole from his dad, some matches, a flashlight and his raincoat. When he was finally all packed, he heard yelling coming from the kitchen.

"What do you mean 'you wouldn't understand'. Who the hell do you think you are Nancy."

"We need to leave." Nancy said calmly. "There's things you don't understand, Dad. Dangerous things. People like me and Mike are the only ones capable of stopping them."

"You? Nancy the Journalist and her brother who looks like he's allergic to muscles? This has to be some sort of joke, Nancy. Your place is in this family, you can't just leave.

"My _place_ is wherever I want it to be," Nancy lowered her eyes. "And that certainly isn't with you."

Mike's dad took and angry step forward, and grabbed Nancy by the arm, causing Mike's mom to shriek.

Mike mustered all the courage he had and spoke out. "Let her go."

Mike's dad let go of Nancy's arm and looked Mike dead in the eye. "Well isn't this rich. The other child abandoning our family would like to speak. Go ahead son."

Mike's throat suddenly felt dry "We're not abandoning this family. Our friends are in danger, and the only way to save them is by going to Seattle."

"What do you think this is Mike, a movie? You're a kid, a scrawny, nerdy kid. Everyone's in danger, just look at the news. Theirs people who handle this, people a lot stronger than you."

"You don't get it!" Mike felt his voice rising. "We need to leave, what don't you get about that? Were going to leave either way."

"Leave to do what, get eloped in Vegas with that girl of yours? If you haven't seen her in four months Micheal she's probably moved on, and good riddance. There's no place in this family for that retarted hippie-"

Mike's dad didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Nancy slapped him across the face. She quickly grabbed Mike's hand and made a beeline for the door. Once they got outside, Nancy turned to face Mike. "I'm not going to Seattle, Mike. I'm going to get help."

Mike looked at the piece of paper she was holding, and written in it was a name and an address. The name is Doctor Owens.

"He's the only one who can give us a chance." Nancy explained. "He gave this to me after starcourt, and said to only use it when we absolutely need it. If I can convince him that somethings going on in Seattle, I can save all of you."

"By yourself?"

"Robin is going with me, and I'm going to her house now."

She licked her lips, "You need to lead the others to Seattle Mike, I know you can do it. Your different, and your love for that girl can carry you through anything. If you see Jonathan, tell him I love him."

She reached into her back pocket and pressed Mike's favorite revolver into his hands, along with a giant bag of ammo.

"I love you little brother, and for the record, I was never going to abandon you."

With a final smile, Nancy turned and down Maple street, towards where Mike assumed was Robin's house.

Mike was still in shock when he heard the car horn in his driveway.

"Let's go!" He heard Steve shout. "The storm's coming!"

It sure was. Low, raging storm clouds were hanging above Mike's head. Looking to let hell break loose any second. Mike sprinted towards the van, and joined his friends in the back.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Steve announced. "Who's ready to save the world."

Before anyone could answer, Steve floored the gas, and the rusty white van cut through Mike's neighborhood.

* * *

May 2nd (Somewhere in Utah)

When El woke up from her slumber, she was surprised at how much progress they had made. After El had contacted Mike at the gas station, she was beyond exhausted. It was easier for her the second time entering the void, but it had still drained her. She barely had time to answer any questions before she passed out. Now, what she could guess was hours later, they were already moving and seemed to be in a completely different terrain.

"Where are we" She asked immediately as she was waking up.

"Well," Will said from the front seat, looking at a map. "From what I can tell, somewhere in Utah?"

"How long was I asleep?" El asked.

"Like 5 hours." Conner said. "We thought you were going to be out a lot longer than that though, you looked like you were dying."

"Gee, that must feel flattering." Alice said as she rolled her eyes on the other side of El. "You sure know how to make a girl feel special."

"Enough," Jonathan called from the front. He sounded tired, and El was nervous he was going to run himself into the ground. As far as she knew, he hadn't gone to sleep yet. "El, what did Mike say."

As Will passed her a canteen of water, she explained what had happened in her void visit to Mike. She had a feeling they would be able to converse before she did it. She didn't know if it was because they had a stronger connection, or if it had something to do with the pool a few days ago. Either way, she was glad she was able to hear his voice.

"Wait, so he's coming?" Will asked.

"That's what he told me. He said to give them three days."

"Ok, even for Mike that's kind of drastic. No way they're going to show up that quickly." Jonathan said.

"Once he enters the 'El's in danger mode', he doesn't slow down. I'd honestly be surprised if he slept the entire three days." Will explained.

"Well we need all the help we can get," Jonathan said. "This place in Seattle is probably heavily guarded. We need a plan."

"Again, the best planner is on his way there. Mike definitely thought of something already." Will said.

Alice narrowed her eyes."So you're putting all your trust in one 14 year old-"

"15," El corrected. Mike's birthday of March 14th had already passed, as did El's. Her birthday was January 1st since they only knew she was born sometime in 1971. So she was technically 15 as well.

"-15 year old kid." Alice finished. "Isn't that kind of drastic? We could probably start thinking of some ideas ourselves."

"Not to mention Mike is known for his very last second, thrown together with duct tape type of planning. It won't hurt to start thinking of some ideas." Jonathan pointed out.

Connor inched forwards in his seat, eager to join the conversation. "So what other friends do you have? Hopefully some big, burly ones that can take down some government agents."

"Well there's Steve…." El began.

"Who Jonathan beat the shit out of," Will said. "He can't win a fight to save his life."

"Yeah," El agreed. "Then there's Dustin, he's not very athletic. Lucas is more athletic, but he's skinny. Max can ride a skateboard."

"So we're getting some 14-15 kid backup?" Alice questioned. "Nice."

"They're all really smart." El pointed out. "We've saved the world before."

"When we had you go throw people around like rag dolls," Will said. "Now that I think about it, this team is really lacking some firepower."

"This Mike guy isn't very big either?" Connor asked.

"He's tall," El explained. "And really brave. But he's not the strongest. He can't really fight well."

"Yeah, we do need some more firepower then." Connor agreed. "Maybe we can stop and buy some guns Jonathan?"

"Good one, because that won't look suspicious at all." Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Hopefully we won't even need to use guns to break them out. There has to be an easier way."

"You can't be that naive" Alice shook her head. "They obviously want Joyce and this Murray dude for a reason, they're not just going to cough them up if we walk up to the front door."

The car slowly started to quiet down after that. The only noise being Jonathan and Will in the front, Will reading out the map and telling Jonathan where to go. Alice was looking out the window, and Connor was looking at some comic book he must have snuck in his backpack from a few nights ago.

As the others fell into comfortable silence, El spent the next couple of hours watching the cars behind them. Most of them changed from time to time, some getting off at exits while some stayed. But there was always one constant. A black truck that followed loosely behind, almost mimicking there movements.

"Some of these cars are following us," El pointed out.

"It's the freeway," Jonathan explained. "Some cars are going to follow us for a while, it's just what happens."

El frowned as she stared at the truck behind them. She wasn't sure why, but she had a bad feeling about it.

**Oof, things are really starting to heat up. Sorry not much is going on with the new mexico crew, but it's hard for interesting things to happen when they're driving a car for like 24 hours. I have stuff planned in future chapters though, don't worry. Originally I was going to try some sort of duel perspective thing with Mike and El in the Void, but it got kind off messy and strayed away from the point, so I said fuck it and scraped it. So that's basically why there wasn't much going on. Hope you guys liked Hoppers section, and if you have questions, please don't be afraid to ask. I know its confusing but I have a good idea of what's happening in my head, so if you can't understand what I'm trying to say please ask me. **

**Last thing, someone commented a while back saying I didn't get Mr. Wheelers personality right since he doesn't care about his kids, and that's the point I'm trying to convey here. In the show, Ted doesn't have a personality. Here I'm trying to make him more angry, and cold hearted which attributes to why Mike lacks confidence, and why Nancy is so independent. I know it isn't like the show, but making it like the show is boring in this case, so this is how I wrote it.**

**Please let me know if you have questions and concerns. I love comments so feel free to leave some. See you in the next chapter :).**


	17. Chapter 17

**H****ello everyone, I'm back again :). Not much to say in this author's note other than that you should follow the instagram I made for my page, ign. flintflamez. I won't be spamming your feed with pictures or anything, but if I get like five followers, I'll post weekly updates on the storys and when you can expect them. This is really important for when I leave for college, because I might get delayed here and there due to classwork. So if you have an instagram, please follow me flintflamez. Even if you don't have an instagram, it's really easy just to make one, follow it, and turn on notifications if you want to be informed. I'll follow everyone back so it doesnt fuck up their ratio or anything, and then your all free to dm me whatever you want. **

**Other than that, just enjoy the chapter I have planned for today. Hopefully it will clear some questions you have up.**

**Xenocide250- everyone needs a good slap once in awhile :). You'll find out this chapter who the guy is Hopper is talking to, something tells me you won't be disappointed.**

**Luna0603- Glad your enjoying it! You'll see who the man is that's vaguely familiar in this chapter, as well as some other things that should be eye opening.**

**Jbg- This should continue how it is for the next few weeks until I get settled in college. I'm not sure how much I'll upload, but I'll let you guys know. It should never drop below once every three weeks, but if it does, well, I'm closeish to the end anyways. Also I have a year until the actual season comes out, so at the very worst mine will be done quicker than that lol. **

**Shrike176- I always like when the characters stand up to verbally abusive characters, so this was nice to write lol. Glad you're enjoying it!**

**Dilfit- I actually plotted out a few days ago and gasped at how much more I have left lol. My original plan was 20, but I changed some things as well as added a few more plot points, so It's around 26 right now, 26 being the epilogue. Though it could easily surpass 30 if I fill too much, so let's hope that doesn't happen. Like I mentioned before, I'm leaving for collage in a few weeks, so I might hardcore grind these next few weeks to stockpile chapters. That way I have some breathing room once I get there. **

**Guest- Honestly I thought it was funny when that game came out and it was in Seattle because of this story lol. It helped me identify some architecture and things to look for in the future so I'm grateful. Though it looks like I ripped it off because of the whole secret organization in Seattle thing, that story had 0 inspiration for my idea. I just picked Seattle because it was close to Russia and in the USA.**

May 3rd(Seattle, Washington)

Hopper woke up to what sounded like a police siren, blaring in his ears like he was back at the Hawkins police station and Callahan had accidentally set off the alarm. It almost gave him a glimmer of hope that he was back home in Hawkins, back in his place of work. Sadly as he regained his bearings, that seemed like the farthest thing from the case.

He rubbed his eyes, and started to take in his surroundings. Hopper was currently in what looked like a holding cell(that was nothing new) with bright lights positioned directly in his face, almost like he was at the dentist. He was currently laying on a cot positioned in the very center of the room.

He sat up, and took note of what was in the room. Not surprised, it seemed to be completely empty. The white walls and single metal door seemed to be there only to give him trouble sleeping, because they were bright as day. Two speakers filled the two top corners of the room, on the same wall as the door.

Hopper rubbed his head and tried to remember what had happened before he had gone unconscious. He had left Russia to go to Seattle and link the portals. Only when he got to Seattle, he destroyed the breakers, meaning the portals couldn't be linked. Then he was met immediately with soldiers, who had taken him once he passed out from exhaustion. Had they known he destroyed the breakers, and they're keeping him as a prisoner out of spite? Did they know the Russians were evil and devised a plot to get him back?

Was he set up?

Hopper was sure of one thing, _something_ was off. This place, these walls, they reminded him of something from his past. Something evil he couldn't quite put his finger on. Whatever it was, he was sure he would find out sooner or later.

The siren still had not shut off, and the noise was so loud, he began to experience pain in his ears. Whatever these people wanted with him, they better get in here quick and tell him before he loses his hearing all together.

Eventually the siren stopped, much to Hopper's relief. He figured someone had to come in soon and check up on him, considering he hadn't eaten in what felt like 24 hours, and his mouth felt like he was swallowing sandpaper.

Hopper had to be staring at the wall for what felt like hours until he heard the metal door open. He turned towards the door and saw a woman enter the room, carrying a metal tray and a cup of water. She had long brown hair with square glasses covering up much of her face, and was dressed in a lab coat. The patch on her coat read F.O.E, which must have been an acronym for something. Her name tag read_Dr. __Reynolds_.

She sat down on his cot without saying a word, offering him the metal tray and cup. Hopper accepted them, even though the food looked like something straight out of middle school lunch and the water tasted like rusty metal.

"Thank you," Hopper nodded towards the lady as he scarfed down his sandwich and broke into the cup of pretzels they provided for him. She stared at him intently, refusing to answer him.

Once Hopper had finished his meal, the lady set his tray and cup down next to his bed, and broke out a clipboard and pen.

"Forgive me for my silence, Jim Hopper." The lady said. "It's an honor for me to observe you up close."

"Ermm… thank you I guess," Hopper scratched the back of his head. "Am I a big deal around here or something."

She looked at him seriously, "Anyone who has traveled through the Otherside is quite fascinating to me, especially one who has just traveled 3000 miles in 8 hours."

"How was it actually 3000 miles," Hopper said, warming up to the woman. "That shouldn't be possible, should it."

"We do not know exactly how the dimension acts, but that was much faster than our people anticipated."

"Well that's great," Hopper laughed. "Glad I could be of help I guess, thank you for getting me out of that hell hole in Russia."

The woman said nothing, and continued to write on her clipboard. The move didn't exactly put Hopper at ease. A few minutes later however, she spoke up.

"Tell me Jim Hopper, what do you think you are doing here with us?"

Hopper was taken aback by the question, not sure how to respond. "I was told if I made it here I would be set free."

She again didn't respond, and jotted down some more notes on her clipboard.

"Am I here for a different reason?" Hopper asked, starting to get upset..

"We admire your courage, Jim Hopper." The woman said at last. "But you are here for different reasons. Our friends in Russia were nice enough to transfer you here charge free, and for that we are grateful. We can't have individuals roaming free that know so much about our project. If the two prisoners we received here a few days ago came any earlier, you could still be in Russia. However, we figured it wouldn't hurt to tie up more loose ends."

Hopper's eyes widened, not quite believing what the lady was telling him. "So the whole mission, linking the portals and becoming a hero of Russia-"

"Lies," The woman stared at him coldly. "Though it really isn't my place to tell you about all of this. Someone wishes to see you, and I'm sure once he does, it will all make sense why we wanted you so bad."

She got up from the cot, leaving Hopper there gaping like a fish.

"Wait," Hopper said. "Wait! You can't just leave me here you pathetic piece of shit!"

He started screaming, and tears flowed down his face. Anything was better than becoming a lab rat again. He would much rather die than suffer the same fate he did in Russia again. It was torturous.

Eventually his screaming had stopped and he laid back, unable to fathom how hard he had gotten played by Russia. He instead started to think about other things. Who were these people? Who were F.O.E and why were they developing Upside Down technology? More importantly, what did they want from him?

Hopper continued to let his mind wander until he heard the door open, He turned, and was surprised at who he saw.

"Jim Hopper," The man said, with a crooked smile. "How hard it might have been to imagine we would be meeting again."

Hopper was beyond shocked at this point, and continued to stare at the man. The man who had turned his life upside down forever(quite literally), the person who had tested his limits, and more importantly, the man who ruined his daughter's life.

"Brenner," Hopper gritted his teeth. "What the fuck do you want with me."

* * *

May 3rd(South Dakota)

Mike woke up in the back of Steve's van, and was pretty surprised to find himself completely alone. It was dark outside when he looked outside the windows, meaning it must have been nighttime. Mike remembered dozing off only a few hours into their trip, having grown tired of Dustin and Steve bickering in the front, and having to deal with the awkward tension between Max and Lucas in the back. He must have been out for quite a while.

He quickly stood up and got a closer look out the window. They seemed to have stopped pretty close to a campground, because they're was currently someone sitting by a fire outside the van. There was a gas station that looked to be about a mile down the road, and he assumed that's where the rest of his friends were.

Mike groaned as he stood up, his body not quite used to being awake, and opened the van side door to get out. As he made his way over to the road side campfire, he saw that Lucas was the one sitting alongside it. He gave Mike a friendly wave as he came over.

"The rest of them started to hike down to the gas station about five minutes ago, to get some snacks and drinks," Lucas explained. "We thought someone should stay behind to watch you since we didn't really want to wake you up. I drew the short end of the stick, considering how awkward things are with Max right now."

"Ahh," Mike nodded as he sat down next to him. _How is this supposed to be any less awkward?_

They sat there for a couple of minutes, not sure what to do or say. There was so much Mike wanted to say, and wanted to ask Lucas. Instead, his friend made the first move.

"Look," he said, turning to look at Mike. "I don't even think I need to explain how shitty I was the last few months to you guys, but I apologized to the others already, and you deserve the same. So I'm sorry for what I did to you guys the last few months Mike."

Mike didn't say anything. Instead he just sat there, studying the fire. He was afraid to even talk to Lucas. After thinking so much about what he wanted to say to him these past few months, Mike just couldn't bring himself to talk about it.

"Well, are you going to say something." Lucas asked. The tone of his voice wasn't angry, but he was eager for an answer none the less."

Mike sighed, "I don't even know what to say, Lucas. I thought my best friend was gone for good. Then when I finally started to accept the fact that we would never be friends again, you show up back in my life. I don't know what to say Lucas."

"How about you ask me questions and I answer?" he offered. "That way we can just clear everything up right away."

"Why did you do it." Mike asked. "I think I already know why, but I want to hear it from you. Why did you ditch us?"

Lucas sighed, and started stroking the flames with a stick. "I wanted a break. After the quarry incident, Max and me splitting, I didn't think I could look at you guys the same way. It was hard for me to accept the fact that we made a mistake, that me and Max made a mistake. I didn't want to face her, and I didn't want to face you guys either."

He turned to Mike suddenly. "That stuff I said about you when we were camping, I didn't mean that. I was mad about Max, I was mad about us getting caught. I didn't mean to call you a shitty leader Mike. Listening to your friends is important. I was just tired and mad."

"Tired of being our friend? Tired of dealing with the problems _we_ started? Don't you think I'm ever tired Lucas? Tired of my girlfriend having the world on the weight of her shoulders? My family is a mess Lucas, I count on you guys all the time to keep me sane. When you just left like that…." Mike shook his head.

Lucas scooted closer to him. "And I understand that now, that I was being selfish. I know you may not forgive me yet, but I'll make it up to you Mike. You can trust me."

Mike didn't respond again, using his right to remain silent. Then he finally asked Lucas the question he was telling himself not to. "So how was it?"

He looked at Mike, confused. "How was what."

"Being normal," Mike said. "Not being labeled as a nerd or an outcast. Having friends with normal interests. Being able to actually sit at a lunch table without people leaving you. How was it?"

Lucas gave him a blank stare, "Mike, that wasn't-"

"Don't lie to me," Mike hissed. "Tell me the truth."

Lucas looked down at his hands, and laughed. "Do you remember when you plagiarized that essay from Dustin back in 8th grade."

Mike blinked, "I think so."

"Probably something like that." Lucas said. "I remember you telling me how excited you were that you got a good grade on the essay, and that you had more time to yourself since you didn't need to write it. But I also remember you telling me how you regretted not writing it yourself, since you loved writing and found the topic interesting. And then once you finally got the alone time, it felt like you cheated your way to get to it."

Mike gave Lucas a confused look," I don't get where you're going with this."

"I always wanted to be a normal kid, I always wanted to run track and I always wanted to have more friends. But I wanted to do it with you guys. I wanted that life for _us_, not just myself. In a way, it just made me feel guilty, because the life I built for myself didn't feel like mine, it felt like someone else's. I finally had the relaxing life I wanted, but it felt like I cheated my way to get to it. Then I started to realise maybe you guys were better off without me."

"Better off without you?" Mike laughed. "You have no idea how crazy Dustin and Max are right now. I shoot guns in my free time Lucas, that's how desperate I got."

He smiled back, and then frowned. "Everyone's changing, aren't they? None of us are the same anymore really."

Mike looked up at the night sky. "No, we're not. But that's all part of growing up, isn't it? Changing, growing. Even if that means growing apart."

Lucas seemed content with that answer, and threw his stick into the fire. "For the record, eating lunch with you guys was way better, trust me. Those jocks take up too much space. I would rather listen to Dustin ramble about the Russians for the entire period that went through that again."

Mike let out a soft chuckle. "We have to survive this suicide mission first Lucas."

Before he could answer, they were interrupted by a loud yell behind them. "Ah, Wheeler's finally awake! I thought we were going to have to wait for Sleeping Beauty to wake you up."

"Steve," Dustin shook his head. "That was a terrible joke, Sleeping Beauty gets kissed by prince charming, not the other way around."

"That's what I was going for! A little reverse joke action." Steve laughed. Max just rolled her eyes and tossed Mike a bag of chips. "We didn't really know what you wanted, so here you go."

"Gee, thanks," Mike rolled his eyes. Max didn't even look at Lucas, and went right into the van.

"Max is a little cranky, she didn't think the walk would be that far," Dustin shrugged, and took a seat next to Mike, opening up a Three-musketers bar.

Mike looked up at Steve, who was currently downing a can of coke. "How far out are we?"

Steve shrugged. "If I can catch some sleep tonight, we should be in Seattle on the back end of tomorrow, like midnight tomorrow. Hopefully that will give us a lot of time to find El."

"If she's even in Seattle," Dustin said. "She could be stuck somewhere. We might as well check out the city a little bit while we're waiting."

"You want to go sight-seeing?" Steve looked baffled. "The fate of the world is at stake here, and some of our friends. We don't have time for that."

"Steve, I wasn't suggesting we go _sight-seeing_," Dustin said, using air quotes. "Seattle was evacuated yesterday as well. I figured we can scout around the area and try to find the government agents or Russians. Whoever the hell they are. We don't have a sure fire way of finding El unless she wants to find us."

"Wait a second," Mike said. "Did you just say _yesterday_? What time is it now?"

"3:30 am on May 3rd," Steve said, squinting at his watch. "You were out a long time Wheeler, hope you don't mind taking the first shift when we all go to sleep."

"How long are you guys going to sleep?"

"I'm thinking five hours, then we power our way through to Seattle."

"Should we even be stopping? Maybe me or Max could drive while you sleep, or something. What if someone is following us."

"Who's going to be following 5 random ass people driving a rusty white van? Even if they were looking for us, there's no way they know my cousin's van. Were safe Wheeler, don't think I haven't been watching."

"It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that we have to be cautious. These people know we know something that we're not supposed to. They have to at least be watching us a little bit."

"Maybe," Steve shrugged. "But the fact of the matter is we have strength in numbers. You have your gun, I have my bat. What could go wrong?"

Mike nodded, still not convinced. Steve patted him on the shoulder and gestured for Dustin and Lucas to follow him into the van, Leaving Mike alone.

As he sat on the ground near the campfire, Mike couldn't avoid going into deep thought. Every instinct he has told him something was wrong, yet the others seemed content. He decided to shake it off, telling himself that he was just going to need to be cautious, and studied the constellations high in the sky.

* * *

May 3rd(Boise, Idaho)

"Jonathan, you need to rest." Will urged from the front seat. "You've been awake for two straight days."

"We're almost there Will," Jonathan urged. "We can make it if we just go for one more day."

"What's one more day," Alice asked. " We have to wait for your friends from Indiana anyways, and Seattle just got evacuated. We can't exactly hang around there."

Jonathan looked like he was battling some sort of internal conflict before he finally gave in. "Fine, next exit I'll stop at a motel and we all try to get 5 hours of sleep, max. Then we're hitting the road."

It was currently 9pm and El hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in days. The constant worry of Joyce being hurt and sending the love of her life on a suicide mission was enough to keep her awake.

When Jonathan finally pulled into a hotel parking lot, El wasn't a big fan of their surroundings. El hasn't been outside the lab enough to distinguish bad areas from good areas, but the area surrounding the hotel seemed dirty to El. Women were walking around in skimpy clothes, men were holding flasks of alcohol, and no one in the surrounding area seemed to be interested in going to bed.

They quickly got out of the car and made their way into the motel lobby. Jonathan ended up getting two rooms, one for himself and one for the kids to share, claiming he needed to be fully energized to make this stop worthwhile.

The motel room was… not as exciting as she had hoped. When El had stayed in Hawkins, they had what was called a hotel, which according to Will meant the rooms were on the inside as opposed to the outside. Of the two, El definitely had to admit she liked the hotel better. The beds looked dirty, the water barely even turned on in the bathroom, and garbage littered the ground.

They made dew, however. There were two beds in the room, and they opted to split them between boys and girls. Though since El wasn't planning on sleeping much, she just gave Alice the bed and made her way to stand outside.

She studied the cars in the streets as they made their way down the brightly lit road. She was fascinated with how many different types of cars there were, and how everyone seemed to drive at their own pace. She hoped one day she would get to drive one herself, or at the very least have Mike drive her around places. There were so many things in the world she had yet to see.

She jumped as she heard the door open behind her, and relaxed to see it was only Conner. "You scared me," El said.

He held his hands up in defense, "Sorry, it's just…."

"Couldn't sleep?" El asked.

He shook his head, "Mind if I hang out here? I didn't mean to intrude, I'm just bored."

She nodded and made some space for him to lean over the ledge. The good thing about Conner was that he didn't go long without talking.

"This area reminds me of Las Vegas a little bit," He chuckled to himself.

"Las Vegas?" she asked. "Is that a city?"

"A really big city," Conner explained. "It's almost like a giant party that never stops. Our parents took me and Alice there when we were little, back when we actually did stuff together."

"You don't see them much anymore?" El asked.

"I haven't seen my dad since we moved," he shook his head. "Her and my dad never really got along. He was an astronomer, he studied the stars. He was also a huge collector. He had so many comic books, and we used to watch a ton of movies together."

"He seems awesome," El frowned, since it reminded her exactly of Mike. "Why did they break-up?"

Conner shrugged, "Astronomy doesn't pay much. He basically went off of funding from the government to get his work done. Not like it mattered though, since our mom made bank as a doctor. She was just being selfish. They had this huge falling out a few years back, and once she got custody over me and Alice, we moved to New Mexico. We talk on the phone sometimes, but it's not the same, you know?"

El saw him wiping his eyes, "But I shouldn't even talk about my family issues. You have it ten times worse, I'm so sorry."

"It's ok," she shrugged. "I've just gotten used to it. I have Will and Jonathan now, and great friends to help me along the way."

"Does that make it easier?" he asked. "Having friends?"

El nodded, but then frowned. "I used to take my dad for granted, always hanging out with my friends, since they distracted me so much. I wish I didn't do that, but it helped me realise my friends are my real family. They help me."

Conner nodded, looking back out at the skyline. He looked older, not as scrawny and childish out here. She imagined if she saw his father, he might look similar.

"So about your powers," Conner asked. "Are they back for good now."

El was actually surprised he lasted this long without asking her. She held out her arm and focused on a piece of paper down by the parking lot. She felt the familiar buzz in her ears, yet nothing happened. The paper refused to defy gravity and float up next to her.

She shook her head and looked back at Conner. "I don't think they'll ever come back the way they were before."

"You don't know that," Conner shook his head. "Lots of heroes have lost their powers before and plenty have gotten them back. Maybe you're evolving."

"Evolving?" El questioned.

"Like a butterfly," He offered. "They start off as these little bugs, able to do a little bit, but have restraints. Like, not having legs and stuff. Then they go into their cocoons, and are completely useless for a few days. Then, bang! A they turn into butterflies. They can fly anywhere, do anything they could ever dream of."

"Has any superhero ever 'evolved'?" El asked.

He shifted his feet, "Um, no. Not really. But you never know, right?"

El did know. She was almost positive she would never be able to use her powers ever again. Maybe if she was lucky she could find Mike in the void again. Other than that, she was useless.

Conner gestured towards the door. "Well, I'm going to try and get some sleep, I suggest you do too. The way your brothers were going, we're not going to be able to stop tomorrow."

As he turned to leave, El decided to follow. She figured he was right, and she was going to need a good amount of sleep if they didn't stop tomorrow.

As El turned away, a black truck pulled into the motel parking lot, putting itself right next to Jonathan's car. Unfortunately, El failed to see it.

**Brenner is back, I'm really excited to write about him and the other antagonists I've drawn up in this story. Russia guy isn't finished, don't worry. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter a lot. This is starting off slow, but by the end no one should be complaining about action. There's going to be plenty lol. I appreciate all the support I've gotten after my hiatus, you all are the best. I don't know what the future holds, but I really want to finish this story lol. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to comment. I love reading comments. Last thing, don't forget to follow my Instagram flintflamez for updates regarding the story. Other than that, catch you guys in the next one. :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey I'm back! Not much to say here, but will be my last week uploading before college. My upload schedule from Sept 4th and onward will be once every two weeks, since I need to focus on my classes, meet friends, etc. Maybe I'll have more off time than I'll think, we'll see. But just know I'm not abandoning you guys.**

**Brace yourselves, some of you may hate me after this chapter. Everything happens for a reason**

**Luna0603- Glad you're enjoying this! The El and Mike connection matters a ton in this story, and it's funny because they keep running into similar problems on opposite sides of the country.**

**Guest- Might be something for me to consider in the epilogue, but for now Hopper has probably had enough of a character turn around with all the horrible experiences he's endured. Mike telling him he wants change seems to be a little out of character for him, and their issues with each other seem pretty two sided. Trust me, I have stuff planned for Mike and Hopper, things comical but also emotionally heavy.**

**Shrike176- As my friend once told me, I'm the master giving you exactly what you want in a story, and giving you nothing at the same time lol. Yeah El's been through a lot, though I'd argue if anyones on the brink of snapping, It's probably Mike. Friendship imo should be earned, as should respect and trust. Lucas abandoning them really hit hard, and it will take a lot more for him to earn it all back.**

**Guest- Honestly I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, I hated The Last of Us 2. At first it was fun gameplay wise, like I had a blast. But when Joel died, I got confused. The whole story was basically me waiting for something to happen, and nothing ever happened. They made me want to care about random side characters for no reason, and overall the writing was just really, **_**really **_**poor. I'd give it a 5/10 just because it did a great job laying out Seattle and the gameplay was fun before it got repetitive.**

**Guest- **MINOR SPOILERS**Kali was actually in the original notes and was supposed to be a side journey for El to get her powers back, but I scrapped it since I didn't like the idea of bringing her back. This story is supposed to be about El and Mike saving the world, and I figured love and trust was a better way for her to get her powers back.**

**Aps131997- Not a problem at all. It's not like you're required to review, you know? I hope you're enjoying the series!**

May 4th(Seattle, Washington)

Jim Hopper had never felt more hopeless in his life. He had been in a Russian concentration camp for over 8 months. He had been their Guinea pig, and had entered the upside down way more times than he ever wanted to.

But nothing, _nothing_ compared to being stuck in a lab run by the psychopath that tortured his daughter for years on end. He thought this had to be some sort of karma for how shitty of a person he had been the last ten years. All the DUI's he should have had, all the crimes he could have stopped, if he wasn't so lazy, so _careless_. This was his eternal punishment, it was his hell.

Brenner hadn't said much to him yesterday, just wished Hopper well, and was glad the Russians delivered on their promise. He had let Hopper know that the breakers had been fake, and tossing them into the portal wouldn't have done anything. In otherwise, Hopper was set up, and he still wasn't exactly sure what Brenner wanted with him, but if he had to guess, it must have something to do with El.

Brenner showed him countless pictures of El. Some more dated than when Hopper last saw her, but she was for sure the same person. But the pictures themselves seemed stalkerish, like she had not noticed her picture was being taken. It made him angry that they had been watching her for so long. According to Brenner, they had tracked her down a couple of days ago, and it would only be a matter of time before she was brought to him.

That was pretty much it from Dr. Brenner, as he was pretty quick to leave after that. Hopper hadn't seen him since, though only a single day had passed. He saw the nurse a few more times, to bring him food and give him a new gown to change into.

Besides that, Hopper had not had much human contact since he arrived. He had no windows in his room, and was pretty sure he would pass out from dehydration soon if he didn't get more than one glass of water per visit soon. Death had to be better, he was sure of it.

The excitement came towards the end of his day, when Brenner finally came back to his room. He was accompanied by two men about Hopper's size, only a lot more fit and mean looking. Hopper figured they had to be soldiers.

"Well, are you enjoying your stay?" Brenner asked, with zero emotion on his face.

"Of course" Hopper spat out. It was hard to converse, since his mouth was as dry as sandpaper.

"I'm sure of it," Brenner answered, giving Hopper a small smile. "Since you passed your test, you're free to live out the rest of your days with the others, until we need you again that is."

The two soldiers went over to Hopper and stood him up, forcing him off of his cot. Immediately as he stood up, Hopper felt dizzy. The soldiers caught him after he stumbled, but very quickly forced him to move again. This continued as they made their way out of the room, and into the hallway. Brenner quickly waved him goodbye, and went the opposite way down the hall.

The hall itself looked exactly like Hawkins lab, only it was completely empty. No one showed their face as Hopper made his way down the hallway, and down a flight of stairs. The basement which he had found himself in, must have been where they kept prisoners. It was dirty, and not very kept up. A single bucket of water lay in the center of the room.

One of the soldiers behind him laughed when he saw Hopper staring at the water. "That's not for you buddy, that's for our pet. Though I guess you're about the same thing.

The other guy laughed as they guided him towards one of the cell doors, and threw it open. It was so dark, Hopper couldn't make out the figure that sat before them. "We got you another one of your friends, you scum. Hope you enjoy sharing rations."

The two soldiers pushed him into the prison cell, which would have landed him face first into the cement if he hadn't been caught by the person the soldiers were mocking.

"Have fun in hell, Jim Hopper," Soldier number two said, spitting into the cell. He closed the door, leaving Hopper alone with this mysterious person.

Hopper quickly distanced himself from the stranger, but ended up spilling back onto the ground. He was not well, whether it was the lack of food or dehydration, something was not right with Hopper.

The stranger approached him quickly, but was careful not to touch him. "Jim? Jim is that you?"

The voice was familiar, yet sounded pained. Like he too was suffering.

"Who is this?" Hopper asked, desperately lashing out to get a feel at the man. He ended up grabbing a large chunk of hair, which thankfully seemed to be on the man's face.

"Oww!" The man turned away. "It's Murray you bastard, Murray Bauman!"

Hopper stared at the man with wide eyes. Hopper didn't think he had been this happy to see someone in a long time.

"Bauman!" Hopper hugged the man forcefully. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

The man seemed taken aback at first, but quickly returned the hug. It seemed like both men were happy to have someone to hold, even if it was only for a second.

"What are you doing here Murray, did you get captured?" Hopper asked.

"What am I doing here?" The bearded man snorted. "I could ask you the same question. You were dead, we practically saw you die. Where have you been."

"It's a long, long story I'm not sure we have time to cover." Hopper waved his hand in dismissal. He wasn't quite ready to come clean about his experiences, not when they had so much else they needed to talk about. Hopper took a look around the cell and was surprised to see how big it was. It was about the size of his hunting cabin back in Hawkins.

"Are you the only prisoner in here?" Hopper asked. The room was pretty large for a prison cell.

"Here, follow me back here where we have more light." Murray said, dragging Hopper towards the back of the cell. There was a faint light on the back wall, outputting about the same amount of light as a campfire. Near the back of the cell lay a woman, passed out face first on the ground. She only had a blanket for cover.

Jim immediately knelt down next to the woman. "Who is this."

Murray sighed, his full face finally visible in the light. "Joyce."

Hopper's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Joyce? What the hell's wrong with her." Hopper quickly turned her over, revealing the face of Joyce Byers. She had a deep cut on the front of her forehead, along with several bruises along her neck.

"They were on our trail." Murray explained. "When the government got on their trail, Joyce, Jonathan, Will, and El moved down to New Mexico near me. We thought it was safe for the longest time, but they finally caught up to us. The kids got away, at least we think. We weren't so lucky."

"I didn't ask for a full blown analysis Murray, what the fuck happened to her?" Hopper yelled with rage.

Murray glanced at her, then back up at Hopper. "When they ambushed us, Joyce didn't go down easily."

Figures. Joyce Byers was one of the most stubborn women he had ever met. She would never go down easily, especially if her kids were in danger."

"Is she going to be ok?" Hopper asked more softly.

Murray shrugged. "The doctors didn't seem concerned when they saw her. She passes in and out of consciousness. She just needs time to heal, I think."

"That's just great," Hopper muttered.

Murray started to pace quickly. "These men that captured us Jim, they're dangerous."

"No shit," Hopper rolled his eyes. "Anyone involved with Martin Brenner and the Hawkins lab are going to be dangerous."

Murray shook his head, as if Hopper didn't get the point. "These people Jim, they're more than the Hawkins lab. They're an entire underground branch of the government, they call themselves F.O.E. I was researching them back in New Mexico. They were bad news before, but ever since they ended up with Martin Brenner and his insane Upside Down technology, they've been nothing short of terrorists. Making risky deals with Russia, pursuing people like Eleven, it's all bad news."

"Eleven," Hopper breathed, as if he finally remembered one crucial detail. "She's safe?"

Murray shook his head, "I hear the guards talk sometimes. They keep saying they're 'close' to the big one. I think she's trying to come here and save Joyce."

Hopper shook his head. Eleven is as stubborn as she is brave. Of course she would try to come and save the woman who was no doubt like a mother to her.

"There's something else Jim," Murray said. "The guards mentioned another group coming towards Seattle. They said something about catching a sight of a white van full of the 'disposables'.

Hopper looked Murray straight in the eyes. Of course if El was driving into danger, she would have her other half do the same thing.

"Wheeler,"

* * *

May 4th (Idaho)

Mike couldn't deal with the overwhelming amount of anxiousness that filled his body. He just had the worst feeling in the world, like they were about to get nuked out of the sky or something. It was nerve racking, hypersubmissive, and distracting. Which is why Mike got switched to the front to ride shotgun with Steve. Lucas, Max, and Dustin were all still tired, not getting much sleep the night before. So Mike and Steve rode in the front.

Driving in front with Steve was kind of awkward, at least for Mike it was. He hadn't had many one on one conversations with the young adult, and the few he had with him weren't memorable. For the amount of times Steve laid into Mike, you'd think they'd be closer.

Steve seemed to notice Mike's anxiousness the minute he joined him up front. He looked like he was ignoring it at first, but after a while, Steve gave in. "Hey Wheeler, you good?"

To Steve, Mike probably looked awful. He was a shaking mess, and sweat poured down his face at an alarming rate. "Just anxious, I get like that sometimes" He responded with a shrug.

Steve didn't look satisfied with that answer, but waited a few minutes before bringing it up again. "Is that an issue for you, anxiety."

Mike shrugged, honestly relieved they finally had something to talk about. "It never was when I was little, but as I got older, it got bad. Then the stuff happened with Eleven and….." Mike shook his head. There really weren't words to describe how he felt sometimes. It was like he was on the brink of death, only he wasn't in any danger at all.

Steve's answer surprised Mike. "You ever tell your folks about it? Maybe there's medicine for that stuff. It's better than letting you shake like a chihuahua when you're nervous."

Mike shrugged for what felt like the 50th time this conversation. "My parents don't really believe in that stuff, learning disabilities and such. My Dad thinks the doctor is a waste of money."

"Your Dad's a piece of shit, right?" Steve said, keeping his eyes on the road. "No offense or anything, but he just seems like a douchebag."

"None taken," Mike said. "He's not the best father, but he's a good parent, all things considered. He keeps us fed, makes sure we can afford new clothes. We can afford college for both me and Nancy. He's just not very…. _attentive _I guess you could say. Like he doesn't care about our interests or hobbies, he just wants us to succeed for the family image."

Steve remained quiet after Mike said this, and it suddenly accrued to Mike that he didn't know much about his home life. Mike had seen Mr. Harringtive once or twice, and he always seemed like he would get along great with Mike's dad. Distant yet loud.

"So, what about your family?" Mike asked. "You still get along with your folks?"

Steve didn't answer for a while, which made Mike nervous. But eventually Steve answered. "Couldn't really tell you Mike, I haven't really talked to them much lately."

Mike looked at Steve, confused. "I thought you lived with your parents? How could you have not seen them?"

Steve murmured under his breath, just loud enough for him and Mike to hear. "I lied, ok? I don't live with my parents anymore."

Mike looked at Steve with wide eyes. "But the party-"

"They were on vacation," Steve explained. "I knew the house would be empty for the week, so I took advantage. I've been living in those shitty apartments near the south side of town for almost a year."

Mike was still confused, and his anxiety left his body, quickly forgotten. "Why did you move out?"

Steve snorted. "I didn't move out Wheeler, I wa_s kicked _out. My old man is much like your own. When I didn't even get into college, that upset him. At first he convinced me he was only trying to teach me a lesson, but eventually I started to accept the fact that I'll never be moving back in with him."

Mike knit his eyebrows, looking worryingly at Steve. "Why didn't you tell us? We could have helped you, we could have-"

"Could have what? Paid my bills? I am where I deserve to be Mike, it's karma for being such a shitty person all my life. I'm not as smart as you, or Dustin, or Nancy. Any of you for that matter."

"So your father just leaves you to dry? He sees your struggling and just says fuck you? That doesn't seem like family to me."

"My old man is a hard ass, but he put me in a position to succeed. Much like your old man. Are they good people? Hell no. But they did their job. I just didn't do well with what I was given. I failed him, not the other way around,"

Mike was disgusted with how much Steve's conversation made sense. It was a horrible way of thinking, but it was realistic. Parents love you until they can let you go, until you're either not good enough or get too good for them.

They fell silent after that, not knowing what else to say. Perhaps Mike had more in common with Steve Harrington than he originally thought.

The gang had passed all the way into Idaho this past day, driving almost non stop. Once they reached Boise, Steve said they would stop and prepare for the final drive to Seattle. As Steve's conversation faded from Mike's mind, his anxiety dug its way back to the front of his brain. He couldn't shake it, and the problems that started to arise did not help his case.

As Steve was about to pass into a mountain range, the freeway was blocked off with cement blocks. The first tell tale sign that they needed to find another way around. Mike and Steve decided to wake up the others before Making a final decision.

"Why don't we just go around it?" Dustin asked. The sides around the road were grass, but soon turned to rock further up. There looked to be a town up ahead, but the place must be deserted, considering nobody else was passing through with them. Lucas and Max both had no idea.

Mike's biggest issue was that there was no easy way to turn around. They were currently on a one-way intersection, so if they rode the same way back, they were at risk of hitting another car. But then there's the fact that this path was obviously blocked for a reason. Going around wouldn't be ideal.

Steve spoke up, "How about we go up and I'll park somewhere in this town. I'll ask them what they want us to do, and we'll be all good. But we need to keep moving, so…. Shall we?"

Everyone seemed satisfied with that answer, everyone but Mike. He had a horrible feeling about driving through this town. But before he could speak up, Steve revved his engine and made his way around the blocks of cement.

They started to approach the town, and at first glance it seemed completely abandoned. Cars were parked alongside the streets, but no one was in them. The town itself looked like it was abandoned.

"Maybe we should turn back," Max suggested. "If this place was evacuated it was probably because of the government. We don't want to mess with those guys."

"What are they going to do? We could be 5 hippies passing through for all they know. If they didn't want us to move past, they should have gotten a better path blocker."

The silence deafened the air as the group drove through. Mike started to dig through his bag, and got out his revolver. Mike hadn't had to use the gun yet on this trip, but he wanted to be prepared. It was already loaded, all Mike had to do was turn off the safety and shoot. He put it in his jacket pocket just in case, prepared to take it out when necessary.

They saw their first person about ⅔ of the way through the town, cleaning out his car at a gas station. Steve being Steve, he rolled down his window and yelled at the man. "Excuse me Sir! Where is everybody!"

The man stopped cleaning his car right when he heard Steve, and booked it back inside the gas station. Steve shook his head. "I'm not liking this, guys."

"Me either," Lucas said. "Let's book it out of here."

Right on queue, Steve floored the gas pedal, and the group zoomed through the town at top speed. That is, until they weren't.

"Why are we slowing down?" Dustin shouted from the back.

"Fuck, we have a flat." Steve said. "I think we can still drive on it."

Just as he said that, another tire popped. One after another, all the tires on Steve's van popped, until it was forced into a standstill.

"Fuck," Steve muttered. "This isn't good, This isn't good"

Everyone piled out of the car, and soon it was obvious why all of Steve's tires were popped. The street was littered with spikes.

"Why," Max asked. "I don't understand why people would try and slash tires in a rundown-"

_Boom! _It all happened so fast, Mike didn't have any time to react. A car parked near them exploded, shooting glass and shards of metal into the air. Mike immediately took cover near their van as another car exploded, followed by another, and another…."

The cars kept exploding until the air was filled with smoke and shards of glass. The smell of propane and gasoline flew across the atmosphere. Mike couldn't see anything even if he lifted his head above the ground.

When the exploding finally stopped, he heard Dustin call out. "Mike! Mike!"

Mike swerved his head around to find Dustin injured on the ground. Chunks of glass were wedged in his right shoulder, and he must have sprained his ankle trying to run away, since he was walking with a limp.

Mike quickly rushed over to him, putting Dustin's arms over his shoulder and helping him walk. "We need to get out of here, what the fuck was that!"

Mike shook his head, "Where are the others?"

"I can't even see 5 feet in front of us man, fuck if I know?" Dustin cried. He seemed to really be struggling. The blood from his shoulder started to leak onto Mike, but he hardly noticed. Dustin needed help and fast.

Mike found his way back to the van, where they found the rest of the group. Max and Lucas looked cut up and bruised, but were mostly fine. Steve on the other hand…..

"Oh no," Mike quickly set Dustin down against the van, and hurried over to Steve. The older boy was impaled with at least 5 shards of glass all across his right arm, with one big piece sticking out from his thigh.

"I'm okay Wheeler," Steve assured him, but he had a noticeable pain as he tried to stand up, but he managed. "We need to get out of here guys, this is a minefield."

"Not a minefield." Dustin grimaced as Max started to remove the glass from his shoulder. "Those were self detonated, We were not close enough to detonate them."

"Then who the hell did it?" Steve asked. Sadly, Steve got his answer a lot faster than he anticipated. Bullets started to whiz past them immediately, as Mike spotted men holding the rooftops of the buildings in front of them.

As quick as they could manage, Lucas and Mike managed to get Dustin up off the ground and moved to the other side of the car. Steve struggled to move but he managed, following the group with Max in the rear. Thankfully, no one seemed to be behind them. But every war movie ever told Mike those men were bound to advance at some point.

"We need to get out of here, fuck." Steve shook his head. "This entire thing was a trap, why couldn't I have seem this was a fucking trap."

Everyone was noticeably shaken, fearing for their lives. Mike never considered himself good in a crisis, much less a leader. But now more than ever, his friends needed him. Quickly looking around, Mike found what he was looking for quicker than he imagined. About 200 feet away in a small disclosed ally sat a 1985 Ford Squire station wagon. Only issue was, it would be in sightlines of the shooters.

"There!" Mike pointed towards the car. "That's my car! I have a screwdriver in my bag. If we can get over there, I can hotwire it and get us out of here. Nancy taught me how."

Steve squinted into the distance, as if trying to make out Mike's car. "There's no way we make it over there without getting blasted. Especially with Dustin's ankle. We're going to need a distraction."

"I don't think we have any," Dustin said. The boy looked grim, more than Mike had ever seen him. "I can't."

Steve looked Mike straight in the eyes and nodded. "Give me a second," Avoiding the obvious crossfire, Steve climbed into the van through the passengers side door.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Max said. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

Mike took this as an opportunity to check the shooters. The men seemed to have made their way down from the buildings, which were about a football field length away. Soon there would be no escaping them."

Steve came back victorious with his 1964 Louisville slugger baseball bat, the same one Mike had been given months ago at the quarry. Only attached to it was something that resembled a firecracker.

"How is that supposed to help us?" Lucas asked. "Are you trying to hit them to death? You're outnumbered!"

Mike was the only one who understood Steve's actions fully. He didn't know it yet, but this would be a moment Mike would remember for the rest of his life.

Attached to Steve's bat was a homemade bomb.

"Don't worry guys," Steve yelled. The older boy was clearly in significant pain. Mike wasn't completely sure he could even walk. "I have a plan. Wheelers going to cover you guys as you get to the car. I'm going to throw this into the enemy and _Boom _they'll die. That should give Mike enough time to hotwire that son of a bitch and get us out of here."

The group nodded now, a plan starting to form. Steve nodded, and around the van. The enemy was approaching sightlines fast, and it was pretty sure now or never. Now that they were closer, Mike was able to make out the men a little better. They looked like soldiers, yielding M16's and wearing army helmets. But they sure didn't group up like them. The men were scattered and out of position, running at them like a crew of gang members.

"I got your guys back if you go right now." Mike said. "It's now or never."

Lucas and Max nodded, and started to lift Dustin up. With a simple "go" from Steve, the trio ran towards the car at lightning speed. Just as one of the men was about to shoot, Mike pulled out his revolver and clocked him in the head without a second thought. The men were now about 50 yards away, peak shooting distance for the revolver.

"Ok Wheeler," Steve shouted over the noise. "Me and you both know I don't have a plan right?"

"What!" Mike yelled, taking another shot at the men. This one missed far left as the men started to advance.

"There was no way we were all getting across, you would have been left behind. So I need to create a distraction." Steve explained. "I light this thing and toss it, it'll buy you some time."

"What about you then?" Mike said as he focused on another target, hitting him straight in the head. By now the enemy had figured out where the shooting was coming from, and it was only a matter of time before he got rushed.

Steve laughed, a dry, humorless one. "I'll figure something out, you know?"

Mike took another shot that missed completely before turning to Steve. The men were advancing and both Steve and Mike would soon be overwhelmed. "You are not going to suidcide into them Steve, I won't let it happen."

"Mike, it's the only way you're getting out of this." Steve said. "I promised Nancy I would keep you safe, and I intend to keep that promise. You can lead the others to Seattle, save El, save the world."

Steve took out his lighter, and took a deep breath. "Tell my old man to stick it when you get back, alright?" He lit the baseball bat, and peered around the right side of the car.

Mike tried to yell, but the words were caught in his throat. The men turned towards Steve and swarmed him like mosquitoes. They approached him cautiously, like he was a dangerous criminal. Mike began to realize if he didn't leave this very second the soldiers' backs were turned, Steve's sacrifice would be all for not.

So instead of rushing towards Steve, instead of going out fighting along one of the greatest people Mike had ever met, he ran. As he sprinted towards the station wagon, Mike made the mistake of looking back at the wrong time.

_Boom!_

An explosion rang past Mike's ears as he witnessed the probable death of Steve Harrington and many others. When Mike finally came up to the station wagon, he was laser focused on getting them out of this town. Questions whizzed in through one ear and out the other as Mike got into the driver's seat, and took his screwdriver out of his backpack. Within minutes, Mike had successfully hotwired the station wagon.

Without thinking twice, Mike floored the gas pedal the opposite direction of the men. Shots rang past them as Mike weaved through traffic, taking side streets until they were eventually out of the town and going in the right direction.

One hour went by, maybe two before Mike's grip finally loosened on the steering wheel.

"Mike?" Mike whipped his head around to find Max, Lucas, and Dustin all with worried faces.

"Steve?" Max asked gently, as if she already knew the answer. As if he were a volcano about to erupt, Mike cried, cried louder than he had in a long time. As tears streamed down his face and their cries filled the stolen car, the group made their way towards Seattle.

Without Steve Harrington.

* * *

**May 4th(Washington)**

The group was about 3 hours from Seattle when El started to get a bad feeling. She'd gotten bad feelings over the course of this trip, sure. But nothing was quite like this. This was a level of anxiety she had never faced before in her life. Almost making her nervous, something El didn't feel a lot at all. So when Jonathan wanted to stop for gas and food, El immediately started to come up with reasons for why they _shouldn't_ do it.

"We need gas if we're going to go any further El." Will explained to her as if she were a second grader. "We're almost to Seattle, I promise."

"I just have a bad feeling," El tried to explain. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Maybe you're just car sick?" Alice suggested. "I know I am with how crazy Jonathan's driving."

Jonathan said nothing up front, and El knew the older boy was tired. He deserved the world's longest sleep after this was over. Conner looked at her strangely, like he may believe what he's saying, but didn't want to intervene.

So the group ended up pulling over at a roadside gas station despite El's protests. Now that they were in Washington, the weather seemed a lot stronger. Clouds constantly littered the sky, sometimes carrying rain, sometimes not.

As Jonathan pulled into a gas spot to fuel up, El and the rest of the kids tried to go into the gas station to grab some snacks. But for some reason, the entire inside of the gas station was closed.

"Huh," Connor said, yanking on the doors. "You'd think they'd have at least one person inside this thing to make sure nobody steals their stuff."

El ignored him, and instead concentrated on the locked door in front of her. Picking a lot was always one of the simplest parts of her powers, yet she had not been able to pull it off in ages. Despite every part of her body telling her no, a familiar buzzing noise passed between El's ears, and a familiar _click _of the door in front indicated that she had opened it.

"Holy Shit!" Will said. "You did it, you opened the door! Are your powers back?"

El flexed her hands, suddenly feeling very different. She wasn't sure how she managed to open the door, but she had. She turned towards Will and tried to use her powers on him, but it didn't work.

"I…. i don't know." El said, still staring at her hands. "Somehow I did."

"That's awesome!" Will exclaimed. "Maybe by the time we get to Seattle your powers will.."

_Bang!_

It all happened so fast. El could only stare at the bullet hole, which had gone straight through Will's lower chest. The smaller boy quickly fell to the ground, gurgling in defeat. El whipped her head over to where the shot had come from, which was over near Jonathan. While they had been distracted, the same black truck that El swore had been following them from the start, pulled up next to Jonathan. Two men were currently near the gas pump, one had Jonathan in a headlock and the other was taking free shots at El and her friends.

"El come on!" Alice had already picked up Will and was carrying him into the store, Connor following her. El couldn't just leave Jonathan, she _couldn't_.

_It's now or never. _El told herself.

She started to focus like she never had before. All the anger, the sadness, the loneliness of her life the past 8 months. She thought of Hopper who had left her, who had sacrificed himself to save her. She thought of Joyce, who showed her love and compassion, only to get captured on her behalf. She thought of Mike, who had given her love when she most definitely didn't deserve it.

Finally, she thought of Jonathan. He was going to die on her behalf if she didn't act quickly. She had used her powers just a minute before to open a door, why shouldn't she be able to save her friends.

Using her anger, her love, and her sadness, El pushed herself to the max. She felt the familiar wall blocking her powers, but it was quickly diminished. Nothing could stop her when she was feeling like this, when she was expressing so much emotion.

El flung a tidal wave of force into the man harassing Jonathan. He was tossed into the gas pump and quickly crumbled onto the ground. The second man tried to shoot at her in defense.

_Big mistake._ she thought to herself. El stopped the bullet mid air, and flung it back right into the man's skull. She then turned her attention to guy number one, who was struggling to get back up.

She grabbed him by the neck, and with one flick of the head, snapped it. The man crumbled onto the ground, lying unconscious next to Jonathan, who was petrified.

El quickly ran over to him. "Are you okay, did they hurt you?"

Jonathan blinked once with wide eyes, then turned his attention to her. "El, how on earth did you do that? Are your powers back?"

Before El could give him a sarcastic answer, El heard Connor call out from the gas station. "Guys hurray! It's Will!"

Over the midst of the battle, El had almost completely forgotten Will had taken a bullet straight to the chest. Jonathan and her quickly ran inside the gas station, and were disgusted with what they saw.

Connor and Alice had tried to patch him up, but to no avail. A pool of blood surrounded him as Alice desperately pressed cloth into the wound. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"He's dying," She explained. "I'm doing what my mom taught me, I'm trying! It's just not working!"

Jonathan barreled his way over and tried to help Alice press cloth into the wound. He too, began to cry.

El started to feel an emotion she was all too familiar with, fear. Genuine fear they might lose Will, her brother. He invited her into his home, and even though he gave her the cold shoulder on multiple occasions, he was kind. She loved him, he was her friend.

El was supercharged with adrenaline. So when she ripped past Conner and put her hand onto Will's chest, The others started to protest.

"El, what are you doing." Alice asked through her tears. "You can't touch his blood like that, you could get infected.

El concentrated and the roller coaster of emotion she had only a minute ago passed through her once again. She started to feel strong, _powerful_. She poured her emotions into Will, forcing them into him. Then, a miracle happened.

El felt Will getting stronger, his wound started to mend itself together, his wound began to close. El was somehow saving Will, and she wasn't quite sure how.

"El," Jonathan said in awe. "You're glowing."

El looked down at her body, which now radiated white energy. She continued to pump her powers into Will, willing him to survive. Slowly but surely, Will began to regain consciousness. As El poured the last bit of energy into Will, he finally sputtered awake.

"What, what just happened." Will said, confused. He quickly sat up, and stared at El. "Why are you glowing?"

Everyone was staring at her with awe as her powers depleted, leaving her for the time being. When she finally returned to normal, she collapsed onto the group, exhausted.

Conner smiled, "She evolved."

**Holy shit, was that chapter a doozy. I need to get some things out of the way first.**

**Yes, Steve is dead. Like, completely dead. This was the plan from the beginning, and I'm really sorry for killing him. This story needed a big sacrifice(one for now), and Steve was the best person I could think of. I have a feeling he's on the chopping block for ST4 as well, he's just too damn likable. I hope you guys are satisfied with him dying in a blaze of glory to save the others, I really couldn't think of a better way. His death will not go in vain, and his character and family arc isn't nearly finished.**

**Second thing is, El getting her powers back needs to be credited to this one author I follow on A03 called Constantius(I hope i didn't butcher your name) from his **_**Special **_**series. The way the powers work and come back aren't even similar or will be used the same at all, I just wanted to thank him for giving me inspiration for that.**

**In my personal opinion, that was the greatest chapter I have ever written. I hope I didn't mess up any words or grammar since I'm currently writing this at 1am, but nonetheless I hope you can read it all, because I'm pretty proud of how I put this together and came up with these ideas. I hope you guys enjoy it as well.**

**Look out for one more chapter after this before I head out to college, the schedule will then change to every two weeks(hopefully). Comment if you have any concerns or questions, or just feel like saying hi(I'm lonely). Thank you for reading and see you in the next chapter!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Haha, so funny story guys, I'm back at home after being at college for only a week! We did COVID-19 testing randomly at our campus and over 70% of cases are positive, so they sent us home for two weeks in hope that the virus phases through our entire student population. Bad news is I still have class, but good news is I have a lot more privacy to write. I didn't anticipate me actually making good friends at college, but it turns out I actually did, so I was a lot more busy than I initially thought. Expect updates to go even slower then I predicted, since it takes me a while to write these when I'm not totally focused. I'll try and get ahead so you all have more chapters to read in the meantime.**

**Xenocide250- Yeah that's the idea. He may be underestimating El and the others a little bit. Steve's father and Ted Wheeler pretty much just want their sons to succeed for their own satisfaction. Once Steve stopped succeeding, he stopped caring. It's sad really, but this actually happened a lot back in the 80's. People were just having kids just for the sake of it, not out of love. Glad you're enjoying this!**

**Holiday Raptor- Yeah I REALLLYYY enjoyed that series. I'm patiently waiting for the next chapter update currently lol. It was one of my favorite stories ever, much less fanfic.**

**Jbg- Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Good luck in school!**

**Vmmi36- glad you enjoyed it so far! Sorry for the inconsistent updates, my life has just been crazy lately.**

**Shrike176- Thank you! Good luck on your future endeavors as well.**

**FavStarngerthings- We stan mom El.**

**FavStarngerthings- Haha, yeah them getting separated isn't ideal but I feel like it's definitely going to be a route ST explores.**

**FavStarngerthings- Haha, thank you for your comments, glad you made it over to my story! I'm doing well and you should see more updates in the coming weeks.**

**Luna 0603- Glad you enjoyed it! As for the party being united… We should see it very soon. **

**Guest- Honestly I didn't have the initial format of Stranger things in mind when I wrote this. I wrote it more like a book, and since it's hard and difficult to incorporate Stranger Things style into a book, there are a lot more chapters than you would typically see. So I would range this entire book into one season of Stranger Things, divide it how you see fit.**

**Guest- Ted's going to get a foot up his ass, don't you worry about that. :)**

May 5th(Seattle Washington)

Hopper awoke on a concrete ground of the same prison cell he had entered the other day, but for some reason felt more safe then he had in 8 months. He was still trapped, and by Brenner no less. But this time he was surrounded by old friends. People he had gone to hell and back with.

The faint light near the back of the cell still showed the unconscious body of Joyce Byers, with Murray Bauman lurching over her. Hopper quickly made his way over to them.

Murray smiled as he saw Hopper approaching, "Get a good sleep, Jim?"

Hopper shook his head. "Better than you would think, actually. How is she doing?"

Murray gave him an emotionless expression Hopper couldn't quite make out, and reached over for the bucket of water. "I heard her mumbling in her sleep, so she's at least alive. I figured she would be awake by now though. I don't like how long she's been incompasitated. "

"Anything I can do?" Hopper asked.

Murray rolled his eyes as he started dabbing Joyce's face with a towel. "What do I look like to you? A doctor? I honestly have no idea. Our best bet is to wait this out. When Joyce fully recovers, we can work on a way to get out of this place."

Hopper nodded, and knelt down near Joyce. Without even thinking about it, he started stroking her hair. There was _so_ much he wanted to say to her, but he didn't even know where to begin. For now, just existing near her felt nice.

"She never stopped blaming herself, you know." Murray said. "It's one of the reasons I left for New Mexico. She needed her space to get over you, and she wasn't going to get over it when she had me and my conspiracies to distract her."

"It wasn't her fault," Hopper shook his head. "She saved the town, the _world_. She made the right call."

"Well," Murray shifted his weight. "It looks like the world didn't like being saved. This whole situation is a lot more fucked up than it ever was. The Russians… Man."

Hopper had spent hours catching Murray up on everything he knew about the upside down. Together they came to the conclusion that there were multiple portals all around the world, Russia being the hub.

Hopper shook his head. "I don't know what we can do to stop this, Murray. But I know damn well that I'm going to try to do something. I need to keep El and all those kids safe. It's the least I can do at this point."

Murray sighed. "Too bad they're coming here on a one way ticket to death. The entirety of Washington has been locked down and evacuated for a reason. These kids are driving into a death trap. Especially if your daughter is still missing her powers."

That was another thing, Murray had informed him that El had lost her powers at Starcourt last year, making herself more vulnerable than ever. It only made him more worried that she was going to try something stupid to save them. Especially if _Wheeler_ was the one making the plans.

"We just have to be ready," Hopper brushed it off. "I'll die before Brenner lays one finger on that girl. Or any of the kids for that matter."

Murray looked him up and down, and returned to Joyce. "You shouldn't underestimate the man, Jim. This isn't some small town cult anymore, this is worldwide. These people he's working with….." He shook his head.

Hopper knew the stakes better than anyone, and that only made him more sure he would put his life on the line to save the ones he loves. He already cheated death once, and it was time to make use of it.

Before Hopper could rebuttal, Joyce coughed below them, like she had just received cpr after drowning in a pool. Only liquid wasn't coming out of her mouth, and her coughs were dry.

"Water!" Murray yelled to Hopper as he was trying to set Joyce up. Hopper ran to grab the bucket of drinking water from behind them, and brought it right next to her. Joyce was now fully conscious, and when Hopper gave her the bucket, she all but poured the entire thing down her throat. Murray had to manually slow her down to make sure she didn't choke herself.

Joyce was awake, but she looked anxious. Like she was missing something. Hopper was afraid she was on the verge of a panic attack until they locked eyes, and Joyce began to calm down.

"Jim?" She croaked out. The look of confusion merged with her anxiety perfectly, creating a look of petrified shock.

"It's me Joyce," Hopper confirmed. "It's Jim."

He barely had time to register what was happening before Joyce sat up and threw her arms around him. For the first time in 8 months, Hopper at peace.

* * *

May 5th( Washington)

Mike's foot had barely left the gas pedal since they escaped the ghost town in Idaho. The town they lost Steve Harrington in. He didn't want to think about complications, like the fact that they stole a car and that he wasn't even legally allowed to drive(not to mention he had 3 other minors in the car with him).

He most definitely did not want to think about Steve. Instead, he kept his mind trained on the little things. Like the fact that he only had a couple of bullets left for his revolver, or that he had no idea where El was. Even if he did know where she was, there was no way to contact her. Mike hadn't even mentioned that the closer they drove towards Seattle, the more it seemed like they were launching themselves into the eye of a hurricane. Heavy winds blew around them, and there wasn't a single car in sight.

Sooner rather than later however, Mike came to the realization that he couldn't keep driving forever. He hadn't slept yet, and considering he didn't really know how to drive, he was doing more harm than good by driving them along.

The others were still sleeping(or so he thought), so he made the executive decision to stop at a roadside shop. The windows were boarded up and the place looked deserted, but Mike was hoping he could break in and steal some ammo, or a better gun for that matter.

When he had finally stopped the car, he felt at peace. He had actually managed to drive a car with minimal past experience, and had gotten his friends into Washington with minimal issues.

The peace lasted for all of five seconds, until a huge wave of hurt passed over him. Mike quickly there was no repairing the hole in his heart that was Steve Harrington. He had saved them all for what? For Mike to get them killed? For them to charge into Seattle unarmed? For the first time in weeks, Mike's focus wasn't even on El, it was on him. What were they going to do?

He quickly stumbled out of the car to sit on the ground, and began to sob. He was a failure, he had failed to be the leader his team needed. Maybe if Nancy was here instead. Maybe she could have….

Mike's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car door opening, and Mike was surprised to see it was Max. The curly haired girl had eyes that currently matched the color of her hair, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Mike?" she asked, as she made her way over to him. He couldn't even bear to look at her as she approached.

"Mike you need to look at me," Max said as she tugged at his arm. It took all the strength he had to look Max directly in the eyes. The look on her face wasn't anger, it was concern.

"Were worried about you," Max said. "All of us. Nobody blames you Mike, you did what you could. It was a shitty situation. Steve being gone…. It hurts. We get it."

Mike silently wiped a tear from his eyes, and was surprised to see his two other friends make their way out of the car. Lucas looked shaken, almost like he hadn't recovered from the events that happened nearly 10 hours ago. Dustin on the other hand….

Mike had never seen Dustin look distraught. He figured it was an emotion the boy was capable of producing, but boy was he wrong. Dustin looked like a part of his soul had left his body. Pain looked like it was exploding from every nerve in his body.

Despite looking and probably feeling like absolute hell, both boys made their way over to him. "Mike, I know you blame yourself for what happened to Steve. But there's nothing you could have done. He saved us. He was a hero. That was his choice." Lucas said

Dustin looked like he wanted to stay something, but ultimately slumped next to Mike in defeat. The morale of the entire group was so low, Mike could have been carrying the One Ring all the way to Mordor. He could have ended up dying right then and there, and wouldn't have even thought twice about it.

Yet, there was something tugging in the back of his head that urged him to keep going. _El_. If Mike stopped now, Steve's sacrifice would be for nothing. Not to mention, El could be in grave danger. She was one of the only things in the world he still cared about. He needed to keep moving, for her. Steve's last words to him were to lead the others to Seattle and save El. Mike intended to keep that promise, until the day he died.

All of a sudden, Mike was filled with a burst of energy. He stood up quickly and surveyed the others. They were all currently looking at the ground, looking defeated. Without a second thought, Mike took out his revolver and shot a single bullet into the sky. The others quickly looked at him in confusion.

Mike cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "Steve was one of the greatest people I had ever met in my life. I wanted to be like him, we _all_ wanted to be like Steve Harrington. But you know what? He didn't want us to be like him, he wanted us to be better."

The others still looked at him in confusion, but they were starting to listen to him more intently. Which was good, considering Mike was starting to find his groove.

"Nice guys finish last is what Steve always told me," Mike continued. "Douchebags and psychopaths shape their own life, they don't let life shape them. That's why Steve used to be a jerk, because he didn't want to finish last in life. Then he told me he started to realize, what's so bad about finishing last?"

The others were listening intently now, and Mike felt himself start to smile. "He told me by finishing last, you get all the things people pass up on. The nerds, the weirdos, the freaks, people like us. He started to realise that maybe people weren't passing up on these people because they're the worst. It's because people would never give them a chance. They were overlooked for the normal kids. I don't know about you guys, but I'm glad I'm not normal. And I think Steve was too."

Awkward silence filled the air as Mike began to slump back into his seat. Until Max spoke up. "When I was having trouble with my parents or my brother, Steve was always there for me. He didn't want me to tell anyone, but he used to help me with school, or give me rides home when Billy couldn't. He was a great guy, and what happened to him sucks."

Everyone gave Max a moment of silence, and a minute later, Lucas spoke up. "Steve would still talk to me after we all split up. He wanted to make sure I was in a good place, and to know that he was always there if I needed help. I used to just shrug him off, but now I regret it. I'd do anything to tell him I'm sorry."

Mike wasn't anticipating Dustin to even say anything, but the curly haired boy hobbled over towards them despite his bad ankle. "Steve…. He was my brother. There's no other word I would use to describe him." The pain in Dustin's voice was enough to make Mike break down and cry, but he decided to hold it together for the others. "He was my best friend, the guy I would always count on. I never really knew my dad, he abandoned my mom and I when I was really young. But I didn't really even feel like I had a void in my life where he should have been. Steve filled that void for me.

He then turned towards Mike, and it was the first time he had gotten a good look at Dustin. His eyes were dark, and his entire face was red. But he didn't look sad necessarily, he looked angry. "I want revenge. I want them to die. Whoever these people are, we need to put a stop to this."

Mike looked around at the group of people he had around him, and all of a sudden the morale didn't seem so low anymore. This group of people he had around him, his friends, seemed special. They weren't going to let Steve die in vain.

Mike pointed towards the roadside shop. "Let's get stocked up." All at once, the group moved towards the door. It was locked, but that was just a minor inconvenience. Mike picked up and rock and smashed through the doors, allowing them to pass through easily. Luckily for Mike, it seemed to be filled with weapons and ammo, so he began to stock up.

He opted to take an AR-15 hunting rifle rather than something a little closer distance, like a shotgun. Plus it was easier for him to carry the ammo in his bag. He loaded the other kids up with pistols, urging them not to shoot their guns unless it's absolutely needed.

"These things can slam back and knock you in the face, it's better to learn control later. Only use them for an emergency," Though none of them seemed to be listening. They mostly just seemed amazed they were handed guns.

Along with the guns, the group put on black vests and dark jeans, which will make it easy for them to move as well as staying blended. Lucas insisted they all put on some eye black, but that was as far as Mike was going. He didn't want to start looking like a ninja.

After slinging his rifle onto his back, and tucking his pistol and newly acquired hunting knife into his belt, Mike was ready to go. The rest of the group looked to be ready as well, and Mike couldn't help but notice a change of maturity in the room. They had always been more grown up than other kids based on their past experiences, but Steve's death really did age them a full ten years. They were no longer kids.

One last edition they all made was to grab a baseball bat from the back wall. A wooden louisville slugger in memory of their friend Steve. Mike had trouble fitting it onto his back, but he made it work. Right before they were ready to leave, however, Mike started to get a pounding headache.

"Mike?" Max asked, rushing to Mike's side. He had completely collapsed onto the ground and it felt like his body temperature had raised ten degrees. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he was almost positive this had something to do with El.

"It's El," Mike grumbled, his headache starting to become manageable. "She's in danger."

"Shit," Lucas said, "Any idea where? Or how far?"

"I-" Mike groaned, digging deep into his sub consciousness, but suddenly he had found the location. He wasn't sure how to explain it, but he knew _exactly_ where El was.

"She's close," He responded. "Really close. But we need to hurry."

"Any ideas?" Dustin asked. "I'm assuming we're outnumbered."

The very minute Dustin said that, a plan did end up forming in Mike's mind. It was risky, and he wasn't sure if it was all that necessary. But he wanted to make a statement. A statement telling this organization they shouldn't be messed with.

* * *

May 5th(Washington)

The group ended up spending the night at the gas station. Both because Alice suggested Will needed to rest due to the amount of blood loss he suffered, and also because Jonathan's car got completely destroyed in the recent attack. The car just wouldn't start, on top of two of the four tires being popped. They decided that in the morning they needed to ditch it, which maybe wasn't their smartest decision.

So currently the group was making its way across a Washington in stormy weather. El could barely see five feet in front of her, much less tell where they were going. Slowly but surely the storm began to slow down a little bit, at least the rain did. But it was still a miserable walk, on top of still being a three hour drive away from Seattle.

The walk there was mostly silent, though Conner and Jonathan started to get into a conversation about some movie El had never seen, and Alice was constantly making sure Will was doing ok, offering him snacks and assistance every ten minutes. El mostly kept to herself, enjoying the peace as well as making sure she had control of herself.

What she had done before had been the strongest showing of her powers ever. Like Conner said, it was like she had evolved. And healing Will from a surely fatal wound? She still wasn't sure how she had pulled that out. She had tried testing her powers after that, and it was almost too easy for her to lift up things that would have been hard for her before. She felt too strong now, like if she wasn't careful, she could end up seriously hurting someone she loves.

Slowly into the walk, Will slid up alongside her. "Hey," He greeted with a smile.

"Hi," El responded, more curious to see what he had to say.

"I know it goes without saying, but thank you for saving my life yesterday." Will said. "What you did, that was incredible. Even after I treated you like garbage for an entire year, you still loved me enough to save my life. So I just wanted to say thanks, and I'm sorry."

El could have left it there, she really could have. But she really wanted to know the reason Will had disliked her so much, even from the start. "But why," El asked. "Why did you not like me? Why were you always so angry with me and Mike. I don't understand."

Will was quiet for a while, and El was starting to think she had gone too far. But after a while, Will spoke up. "There were a lot of reasons why I didn't like you at first, El. When you sacrificed yourself, it's all the guys would talk about. How brave you were, how good of a friend you were. It was like I missed the greatest thing that ever happened to them. So I was a little envious."

"But after awhile, I got used to it. It was like you were an urban legend, like Superman. But when you actually returned for good, it was weird for me. You and Mike were super close, and everyone just accepted you like you were part of the group. It felt like no one cared about me, and all the attention was on you."

"I started to think about what it meant for the Party, and I suddenly realised everyone was growing up. My three best friends had girlfriends, and it was all they ever wanted to talk about. It felt like I was being left behind like always. In a weird way, I almost preferred being stuck in the upside down. Knowing people cared. It was selfish."

He turned to El now, his eyes dead serious. "But the main reason I disliked you El was just how well you adjusted. With all the trauma you went through in your life, I didn't think you would ever be normal. Yet you were, and even you were growing up faster than I was. I envied how well you adapted, how well you fit in."

He wiped a tear from his eyes. "But all this hatred, it blinded me from the fact that you were a great person, one of the best people I had ever met. And I'm sad it took me so long to realize that. I was blaming my own struggles on you, which just isn't fair. I'm really sorry El, and I'm glad to have you as my sister."

Will reached out for a hug, and El quickly accepted. Just knowing how Will felt improved her mood tenfold. Her entire life she was worried about being accepted into society, and here Will was going through the same thing.

The only problem was the entire group was so distracted by what had occurred between El and Will, no one had noticed the cars coming up from behind them. Before El could even turn around, A wire planted itself into her neck and shocked her entire body, making her collapse onto the ground.

She heard shouting from behind her as two men grabbed her arms and blindfolded her face. El heard one man speak into his walkie talkie: "We have her sir, she's sedated. What do you want us to do with the others?"

Before the man on the other side of the radio could respond, El kicked the man to her right in the groin area, allowing her to remove her blindfold. Before she could raise her hand, about seven different men emerged, pointing guns at every one of her friends. "Don't even think about it," One of the men said. "Any sudden moves and we shoot."

El was going through the scenarios in her head. It was possible to kill them all at once, but it would require her to move just a little bit. She couldn't risk one of the men shooting any of her friends.

Her only option seemed to be surrender, at least for the time being. Maybe she could bide her time and get them to let go of her friends, make the kills less risky. Unfortunately, she never even got that far, as she heard the whizz of an engine coming from in front of her. It was a car, similar to the one Nancy drives back in Hawkins, and it was about to slam fully into the back of one of the vans.

At the last minute, El pushed her and her friends out of the crossfire as the car rammed into the back of one of the men, killing him instantly. The crash caused enough confusion for El and her friends to be temporarily forgotten.

"What the-?" Connor said. "Who are those people on the hill?"

Still dazed and confused, some of the men started to notice the four figures making their way down the hill, guns in hand.

Before one of the men took a shot, El used her powers to push the man into the van, giving the people on the hill free reign to shoot at the men. One of the figures in the distance started to shoot with deadly accuracy, immediately killing two of the men. El started to take care of the rest, throwing them around like rag dolls until they dropped unconscious.

Soon all the men were gone thanks to El and the unknown soldier off in the distance. The four started to make their way closer to El and her friends.

"I told you that would fucking work!" a familiar voice said. "That was totally badass."

"That was pretty cool," A female voice said. "Let's go see if they're ok."

El started to help Alice and Conner off the ground until she caught sight of the four figures. These people were no soldiers, they were her friends.

"Holy Shit," Will said next to her. "Dustin?"

Slowly a curly head boy got closer to them, and sure enough, it was Dustin Henderson. One of El's best friends. Will practically tackled him with a hug, and Dustin gave her his classic toothless grin behind Dustin was Max, and behind her was Lucas, and behind Lucas was….

"Mike!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face. She pushed away the rest of her friends, going towards the tall freckled face kid that had stolen her heart. Seeing his face light up when he saw her just about made her year.

She practically tackled him as she jumped into him, sobbing into his chest just like she had so many months ago. He started to rub circles into her back like he always used to, and suddenly El felt right at home.

"I missed you," She said as she kissed him.

"Words can't even describe how much I missed you," He smiled. It was as he had gotten even more handsome since the last time she saw him. He was taller, and looked older almost.

"Since when can you shoot?" El pulled away suddenly taking in Mike's outfit. She can to the sudden realization he must have been the sharpshooter she had seen on the hill. He was deadly accurate with that rifle he was shooting.

"I was bored," He shrugged. "Nancy was insistent I learned to defend myself. Shootings in the Wheeler blood I guess."

There was a sadness in his face El couldn't quite place, but she decided to push past it for now. She was just so happy to see Mike, to see all of her friends together again. It was satisfying in ways El couldn't explain.

After El reunited with the rest of her friends, she decided to introduce Conner and Alice to the rest of her friends. "Guys, this is Conner and Alice, two friends from our hometown. Unfortunately they got stuck with us."

"Trust me, I know the feeling." Max said. "These nerds seem so nice and inviting, then bam! You're getting hunted by wild dogs in the forest."

"Wild dogs?" Alice asked.

Will brushed her off. "They helped us get El's powers back. Or at least figure out what was wrong with her. She's as strong as ever now."

"Really?" Mike asked with such curiosity it made her blush. "That's great!"

"Yeah," Alice looked Mike up and down. "I'm assuming your Mike? Man El's probably glad to see you. It's nice to get to know the guy that gets her all hot and bothered."

El glared at Alice, causing the others to burst into laughter.

"Man," Lucas said, wiping a tear from his eyes. "Some things never change huh?"

They decided to fully exchange story's in one of the vans the bad men dropped off, but El was sure to grab Mike's hand on the way in. She wasn't letting him go this time, and hopefully won't have to for a long time.

* * *

**Welp, Mileven is finally reunited! Hopefully that satisfies a lot of your guys' hopes. I know it's awkward right now, but they have so much to go over. I haven't even gone over the fact that Mike has like 5 people now lol. The big chapter you're all hoping for should come this weekend, with Hopper finally finding a way to escape(hopefully). **

**As previously mentioned, I got sent home from my university for two weeks due to massive COVID outbreaks, and I actually contracted the virus myself for the second time. I feel like it was a false positive since I had a cold pretty much for like 3 days, but I'm trying to keep it serious. I'm obviously going to be fine, but keep the people who I could have given the virus in your thoughts/prayers. Like my grandparents, other kids etc. **

**Other than that, please leave a review if you have any suggestions/comments about my story, and I'll be sure to have another chapter out in about a week. Hope your all doing well!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Geez, not much to say but sorry that I haven't been uploading as much. I was originally supposed to upload this chapter about a month ago but wanted to hold off until I knew I was going to be able to write again. School has been really hard lately with all the online classes, sharing a dorm with another person, and trying to have a little bit of a social life. It's been really hard for me to even find a quiet place to write. Luckily the library opened for public use last week so I've been using that this past week. I'm not giving up on this story, don't worry. This is just particularly hard to write since I have to plot a lot before writing, since it's similar to that of a book. Be on the lookout for updates at least a little more frequently.**

**Xenocide250- Yeah I wanted everyone to look at him in a positive light now that he's gone. We're not done for what his death means for everyone else though. Yeah, I'm really excited to write Mike and Hopper interactions. THese upcoming chapters will be some of my favorites for sure lol. Covid sucks, stay safe.**

**Luna0603- El is too strong for her own good, and we may see something like that in the future. For now though, she's just happy to be reunited with her friends.**

**FavStarngerThings- As of today I tested negative for covid, and none of my family contracted the virus. Thank you for your continued support and prayers.**

**Vmmi36 - I really wish the show would stop wasting Mike's potential as a character. I think they have plans for him, or at least I'm hoping they do. **

**Guest- Yeah I thought Joel was maybe kidnapped or something when I saw the demo, but it turned out to be a lot different than I thought. I consider the Last of Us 2 a DLC to the first game lol. I don't want to remember the series in a bad light.**

**Guest- Yeah I mean it's a shitty situation. I just wish the universities were more honest with us. I personally don't have an issue staying at home and taking online for the semester if they want to prepare for the winter term. This half online half not online thing is pissing me off lol. **

**Shrike176- Glad you're enjoying it! El and Mike's reunion is something I've been anticipating for a while now.**

**Guest- Due to how spread out the show is on all the main characters, I don't expect Max's family life to be a main-main plot, but it should be a subplot non the less. If I had to guess, I think that Neil won't be abusive to her exactly, but I think he's going to start paying more attention to her life. Like who she hangs out with and what her interests are. I don't think he'd be too fond of her hanging out with 3 teenage boys with bad history's, especially dating an african american considering he's probably a racist. I was going to add Chernobyl into this story, but Chernobyl I'm pretty sure doesn't happen near Kamchatka, which is the location we got in the end credits. I couldn't think of a way or reason for everyone to go to a different location in Russia, it didn't make sense to me. So unless there's some crazy way the Duffers have for them to all go to where Chernoyl happened, I don't think we will see it in the season.**

**Guest- There is definitely going to be a final battle. Where it will take place I don't want to say lol.**

**Guest- Ummmm, maybe not lol. Do you like puke or something lol.**

May 7th(Seattle, Washington)

It's been two days since Joyce woke up, and if Hopper was being honest with himself, he hasn't been this happy in years. Despite being sleep deprived, and practically starving inside of a prison cell, he was elated. Just being around Joyce just gave him a feeling of safety he hadn't felt since he was a young kid.

Joyce wasn't exactly full strength, but she was great company nonetheless. Even having Murray around wasn't nearly as annoying as Hopper thought it would be. They sat around Joyce's bed area, trading stories like they were kids at a sleepover. Hopper recounted almost all his encounters with the Russians in the past few months, and in exchange Joyce told her about the kids.

El, he had learned, was adapting quite nicely in the real world. She was able to find a lot of things she really enjoys, like reading(it still baffled him the kid learned how to read at such an alarming rate), scrapbooking, and taking pictures. Fortunately/Unfortunately she was apparently still obsessed with Mike Wheeler, which Hopper had more or less expected.

Joyce herself had found a better job for herself in Clovis New Mexico, though she doubted she still had it after being absent for days. She seemed to really like the rundown town, which gave Hopper mixed feelings. On one hand he was happy she was able to find peace in a land away from Hawkins. On the other hand, he wasn't sure what that meant for him. There was still a cloud of awkwardness hanging over their heads, things that needed to be addressed that they haven't quite gotten to yet. For now though Hopper was ok with that, because they had bigger things to worry about.

Over the past few days, the three of them have been discussing ways to escape the prison cell. The more they thought about it however, the more they realised trying to escape this place may be a lost cause.

For one, they had almost nothing to work with. For one, the closest thing they had in the cell to a weapon was a wooden spoon. Beating soldiers to death with a wood spoon wasn't really something Hopper wanted to try.

There was also the matter of actually getting through the steel door that separates them from the rest of the lab. Only one soldier enters the room per day to deliver food and water, and he's never actually stepped foot in the cell. So trying to steal a key off of him is practically impossible.

The thing is, even if they did manage to get through the door, Hopper wasn't quite sure they would get very far without somebody noticing. Just by hearing voices through the vents, this place was crawling with government cronies and soldiers. Three people trying to slip through an exit door was going to be impossible. So that basically left them with one option Hopper wasn't too fond of.

"What's wrong with waiting around for a little bit?" Joyce asked. "We have nothing to work with, there's no way to escape right now."

"Because Joyce," Hopper pinched his forehead. "We're running out of time. Bad things are going to happen. I'm not sure what yet, but there's a reason why the Russians are working with these government agents."

"Not to mention your kids are apparently trying to rescue you," Murray pointed out. "They have no idea what they're rolling into. It's suicide."

Hopper and Joyce both turned sharply towards Murray, who started to sink back down into the ground. Joyce sighed, and turned back towards Hopper. "I know it sucks, Hop. But there's nothing to do right now. The kids may be our only hope."

"El's powerless," Hopper expressed. "And they're _kids _Joyce. Only 15 years old. Assuming that Harrington kid is in on it, along with Jonathan and Nancy, they have three capable adults. I'm not going to put my life on Wheeler making some last second plan. _We_ need a plan, Joyce."

She silently stared into Hoppers eyes, and it took every bit of will power in his body not to look away. Joyce Byers giving you a mom glare is not a pretty sight, despite how pretty she actually is.

Their stare off, however, was halted by the sound of an alarm. An ear piercing sound that reminded Hopper of the sirens on fire trucks. The alarm was followed by a loud growling sound coming from the left side of their cell door. The siren started to faintly die out, but not without producing a loud clicking sound near the Steel door.

After giving Joyce a confused look, Hopper went over towards the cell door and gave it a hard shove. Confirming his suspicions, The door swung open violently, revealing an empty lab hallway out in front of them.

Murray shrugged at Joyce's astonished look. "How's that for a plan."

* * *

May 7th(Seattle Washington)

"X-men, do you copy?" A loud voice screeched through Mike's supercom.

"Dustin," El pointed out next to him before he could ask her. Mike took out his supercom with annoyance.

"Yes we copy, over." Mike said. He and El were currently positioned on a hill about three hundred yards away from the building where Joyce was being held. Dustin calling them wasn't as much of a surprise as it was an annoyance.

"How's the base looking, has anything changed since yesterday? Over." Dustin asked. Ever since they had arrived in Seattle, the group has been trying their best to make the perfect plan in order to save her. Fortunately for the others, Mike, El and Dustin had taken matters into their own hands. Everything was pretty much accounted for outside the building, and thanks to El's power to go into the void, they had a pretty good idea of what to do when they were inside as well.

"Not really," Mike said. It was pretty much the same old building they had been looking at for days now. "Nothing new has come in, nothing new has come out, over"

"Good to hear, everyone else wants you guys to return to base, check everything out before we begin the mission, over."

"Copy that," Mike said, and turned off his supercom. He turned towards El, who's hair was soaking wet thanks to the constant storms in Seattle. She wasn't too fond of hoods for whatever reason, and her hair was paying the price.

"Ready to go back?" he asked her, offering out his hand. She smiled gratefully and took it, leading Mike down the hill and through the city.

Things between them have been….weird. Not bad, just weird. They had spent a lot of time together over these last few days, and after not seeing her for months, Mike just felt a little anxious about the whole thing. Even though it wasn't nearly as long as it felt like to Mike, it was still hard for him to get used to her actually being right next to him, since she had changed a lot.

For one, she was a little taller than she was the last time he saw her, standing proudly at about 5-6. Mike was still noticeably taller, standing at about 5-11. To him, she just seemed so much older, more mature, and way out of Mike's league as usual. It actually bugged him how pretty she was sometimes. Yet at the same time, he was just happy to be with her. It just worries him that one day she's going to realise he's a complete dork and that she can do way better.

Despite his insecurities, Mike knew that just wasn't El. He knows she's just as attached to him as he is to her. It's just hard for him to realise that at times.

On top of all of El's physical changes, she was also changing mentally. She almost always talks in complete sentences, and if he hadn't known her for years, he probably would assume she's just a normal kid. She talks to him about the story's she reads, and even has informed him that she's taken all his suggestions into account.

Mike loves her, it's just strange to him that she's almost an entirely different person than she was four months ago. It's his favorite part of her really, learning new things about her every single day. Even though it bothers him that he's missed so much of her development.

At the same time, El's personality was still the same. She was sweet and kind, she still liked to make the same blunt jokes she made months ago. He just wishes he had more time to learn about her new interests.

Unfortunately for them, they never really had a chance to officially catch up. Much of their time has been devoted to getting ready for the mission. The sleeping arrangements weren't exactly ideal for them either. They all currently slept in a convenience store a little bit outside of the downtown area, and the convenience store wasn't exactly big enough for them to "catch up" without annoying any of their friends.

Despite all the little things that annoyed Mike about their situation, he can't help but to just be happy he's really with her. Even if it is in a dangerous situation that could very well end up killing them both.

After about a 15 minute jog, Mike and El officially returned to "base", which was really just a small convenience store similar to the one back in Hawkins. Despite moving with a sense of urgency, Dustin shook his head as they walked into the store. "What the hell took you guys so long,"

"It's a far jog," Mike rolled his eyes. "We also don't want to get caught an hour before the mission."

Dustin jokingly huffed, "As long as you guys didn't go on any unnecessary detours, I suppose I'll let it slide. The others are in the usual spot."

"Thanks," Mike smiled at him, pushing past him into the back of the store. After Steve's death, Mike was worried about Dustin. Those two were like brothers, and losing Steve must have killed him. Despite this, Dustin always managed to wear a smile. He seemed to be mirroring Mike's attitude on the situation; complete the mission, mourn his death later.

The "usual spot" was just an area they cleared out near the back of the store. Close enough so they can hear people open and close the door, and far enough so they can sleep unbothered. They had to rely on blankets and make-shift pillows from the front of the store to stay comfortable, but overall it wasn't the worst situation in the world.

Currently everyone was just sitting around, bored out of their minds by the looks of it. They passed Will on the way to the main area, as he was drawing something in a notebook. Mike hasn't really gotten the chance to talk to Will, but by the looks of it he was holding up well.

The next people they saw were Lucas and Max, who were currently eating sandwiches near the stores center. They seemed to have made amends by the looks of it, a temporary truce at the very least. The only people who were currently in their circle of beds were Jonathan, who was trying to use the store's phone to make a call, and the twins Conner and Alice.

The twins… Mike wasn't sure what to think of them. It's not like he didn't trust them or thought they were bad people. It was just hard for him to completely give into these two people he had hardly had a chance to get to know. The boy, Conner, seemed pretty harmless. He seemed more concerned with asking Mike about his comic book collection back home more than anything. The girl, Alice, gave off kind of a weird vibe. She was similar to Max in a way; fiery and didn't like being told what to do. But she was also quite reserved, and sometimes it was hard for Mike to get two words out of her.

Despite his worries, Mike knew if El trusted them, they were good people. If they could be trusted, then that's all Mike really cares about at this point.

Mike gave them both a nod before he walked towards the middle of the space, where the guns and ammo were stockpiled up. In total they had 4 AR-15's with a couple of clips each, along with Mike's revolver. It wasn't a lot of firepower, but if they're plan worked, they wouldn't even need to take a shot.

Mike picked up the remaining ammo and tossed it in his backpack before slinging the Ar-15 over his shoulder. Conner's head popped up from his bed area once he saw what Mike was up to

"So, did you find anything new at this place?" Conner asked. "Are we ready to go tonight?"

Mike shrugged. "I think we should be good. As long as everything goes according to plan."

His sister's head popped up from her bed once she heard Mike mention his plan. "About this plan….. How are you even sure it's going to work? We have no idea what it looks like in there."

She was right to some degree, there was a lot the group didn't know about this facility. Whoever was in there knew the Party was coming, whether they expected a full on assault was a different story. Mike and his friends had a few tricks up their sleeves he was sure would throw the government agents through a loop.

Mike shrugged again in response. "No plan is perfect, but I feel like this is the safest way we can do it. Plus, if anything goes wrong, I have El to watch my back." He gave El a smile as she sat down next to Alice, which she returned gratefully. Alice still did not look convinced, however.

"Are you sure this tower thing you guys found is actually going to knock out the electricity?" Alice asked. "What happens if it doesn't"

See, the plan was simple. Mike and El had found the electricity tower which powers the building a day back. By destroying the power grid, it should buy them enough time to enter through one of the side doors and go down to the basement where Joyce is being kept. Everytime El enters the void, she gets a more definite location on where Joyce is located. They have it narrowed down to a point where they know the exact route they need to take from the electricity tower to the cell. It should take them all but 10 minutes to get there and back.

"The electricity being knocked out isn't even necessary," Mike explained. "It's just safer. If we run into trouble you guys will be on standby.

"Yeah, that's another thing I don't particularly like about this plan" Alice said. "You guys are just going in there alone. What if someone runs into you? What if something goes wrong?"

"Alice," Mike pursed his lips." No plan is perfect, but this is the best we got with the amount of time we have. Any day now this storm is going to destroy Seattle, or at the very least it's going to make it impossible for us to get in that place. We need to do this now and get Joyce and Murray out of here."

"Yeah, and what happens after that?" She started to raise her voice. "The doomsday is still going to happen. We can't just let them get away with all of this. And once you cut that power and grab Joyce, there's no going back. You can't surprise them twice."

Mike had to admit she had a point, but right now wasn't the time to plan for stopping the doomsday. What was important to Mike was saving Joyce and Murray. They could figure out the rest later.

He shook his head, "Look, right now isn't the time to plot all of this out. Personally, I'd much rather make sure Joyce is alive and competent before going out of our way to try and save the world. That's not why we're here.

Alice looked like she disagreed but wisely decided to end the conversation there. Mike wasn't trying to piss her off, but she needed to know what the point of all of this was. Mike went right back to counting his ammo and going over last minute preparations in his head.

After eating a sandwich, checking in with the rest of his friends, and triple checking everything, Mike was finally ready to go.

The only person besides Alice who openly disagreed with the plan was Jonathan. He claimed he should be the one going insead of Mike in case anything happened, but ultimately gave up when Mike brought up the fact that he can't even shoot a gun.

Jonathan would be driving the car, and Lucas and Dustin would be riding in the back just in case something went wrong. Alice, Connor, Max and Will would be staying behind at the store managing communications and making sure all of their messages were getting through.

Plus, if something did go wrong, those four would need to come up with a new plan. Hopefully it never came to that though.

After packing up the car and saying their final goodbyes, the five of them entered the van and started driving towards the lab. The storm had only gotten worse from an hour earlier, and Jonathan could barely see out the front windshield. If this was a normal day in seattle, they would have crashed the car already.

Jonathan ended up parking the car about a block away from the lab, in a neighborhood bordering the city. It was close enough so they could keep an eye on Mike and El while also providing a quick get away if needed.

Jonathan turned the car off and sighed, staring at Mike and El. No one really knew what to say. Be careful, don't really cover it.

"Look," Jonathan said. "I know you guys think you're invincible with this little plan, but please for my sake, be careful. Mom would kill me if both of you died trying to save her.

They both nodded, and gave Lucas and Dustin a final smile. They seemed to be all business, Dustin setting up his headset and Lucas tying his bandana. But Mike didn't need to say much to them. They had been through so much already, what was one more adventure.

With that, Mike exited the van before he could look back. El reached for his hand almost immediately, and Mike was glad for the extra reassurance.

"Are you ready?" She asked. Her face was full of determination.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Mike said.

El nodded and looked towards the Tower. With one flick of her head, the entire thing exploded into a shower of sparks. Fire ignited around the facility in a fast blaze, making it almost impossible for Mike to see the area.

"Well," Mike shouldered his gun. "No turning back now.

* * *

El was surprised to see Mike's plan fall apart as quickly as it did. For one, they couldn't even enter the door they had originally intended on entering due to the fires. So right off the bat they were off to a rough start. Luckily for them there was another door not too far away, though it would be harder to get to the cell from there.

The facility was….. Disgustingly similar to the lab back in hawkins. Long hallways filled with endless doors that must have led to hundreds of rooms. Only this facility seemed to be much larger. When they entered the lab, it took them almost five minutes to make their first turn.

Another immediate problem they faced was that the lights were not completely out. The tower must have controlled about half of the lab's electricity, because on one side of the hallway the lights were on while on the other side they were not. If they ran into someone in the hallway, they would most definitely see them.

Thankfully, they managed to make it to the staircase before anyone had spotted them. Though based on the constant shouting and hushed tones, the scientists weren't far away.

When they finally made it to the basement, they ran into their first actual problem. They had no idea where they were in the basement. The path El saw in the void made a lot of sense, this part of the basement however did not. They seemed to be in some sort of furnace area, which was far off from the scary prison cell she originally saw.

"Should we keep going?" Mike asked. He looked like he was trying not to panic given the circumstances. Someone could jump them around the corner and they would never see it coming.

"Let me try and find them." El insisted. If Mike gave her a few minutes she would be able to find Joyce again in the void, instead of wandering around a dangerous facility aimlessly.

"Too risky," Mike said under his breath. "If they catch you in the void, you can't even defend yourself." He grabbed her hand. "We're close El, I can feel it. Just give it a few more minutes."

"Shit!" Someone yelled across the pitch black chamber. The voice was almost indistinguishable, yet it gave El the faintest glimmer of hope.

"Murray," She turned towards Mike. "That was Murray's voice."

"Wait," Mike said. "Hold on a minute-" But before she could hear the rest of what he had to say, she yanked him through the corridor, desperate to find the owner of the shout before anyone else did. She must have looked crazy, dodging and weaving through this place like it was her house, but she just knew where he was, simple as that.

Before she knew it, she literally _ran_ into Murray. Knocking both her and Mike, and Murray off his feet.

"Oww," Murray said. "What the-" his eyes widened when he finally saw who he ran into. El managed to give him a weak smile.

"Man am I glad to see you idiots." he hugged them both. "Only you guys would have been stupid enough to create a power surge in this place."

"You can thank us later," Mike grumbled. "Now where's Joyce? We're running out of time."

"I lost her and Jim in this maze of a place." He shook his head. "They can't be far, but I'd watch your step. There's some fucked up people in this place."

El's breath got caught in her throat the second he said "Jim". "Jim? As in-"

"Your pops? Yeah the guy finally decided to make an appearance. But you won't be able to see him if we don't find him fast."

El turned to Mike and he had newfound confidence in his eyes, as if Murrray had lit a fire under him. She grabbed his and Murray's hands and led them through the basement, looking for a sign of Hopper and Joyce.

Even though she wasn't in the void, she could tell where she was going to at least some degree. It wasn't like she was tracking Hopper and Joyce, but she could feel them. They were here, somewhere close.

That's how El led them straight into a trap. Ten or more scientists were waiting for them as they stumbled into a corridor. She was immediately grabbed and handcuffed before she could do anything about it. Mike was thrown hard against the wall, shaking him up before he could grab his gun. Murray was left no choice but to surrender.

El tried to scream before a greasy hand covered her mouth rendering her speech and powers almost useless.

"Now, Now Eleven." An all too familiar voice said behind her. "You don't want us to hurt your little friends, do you?"

As his eyes adjusted to the light, she could make out an armed soldier pulling Mike up and pressing the barrel of his gun up to his head. On the other side of the room sat Joyce and Hopper, tied together with another soldier standing over the top of them, making it impossible for them to move.

As for the man behind her, El knew too well who that person was. "Papa," she snarled through his hand. She assumed she would have to meet him again at some point, after he was confirmed to be alive in Chicago. But she didn't think it would have to happen like this.

He removed his hand from her mouth once she said his name, and El could feel the cold smile forming on his face behind her. "Very good, I cannot believe you and your friends entered this facility willingly. Looks like I underestimated you, Mike Wheeler."

Mike practically growled at the mad. "Get this bastard off of me and do the dirty work yourself, something tells me you would change your mind."

The solder slammed the butt of his gun into Mike's back, knocking him over on the ground. "Stop hurting him!" El screamed. "It's me you want, just let them go,"

Papa's sick laughter filled the air around her. "As useful as you are Eleven, your friends are just too dangerous to let go. So I'm going to give you two options. Either you make this difficult and we execute them right now, starting with Wheeler over here," He pointed towards Mike. "Or you can make this easy and let us take them in as prisoners."

El didn't particularly like either of those options. She looked towards Hopper, who looked like he was trying to tell her something. Whatever it was got lost in translation, since she had no idea what he was trying to say.

She didn't have a choice, she would have to surrender. If she tried to get the soldier off of Mike, the other guys would shoot Hopper and Joyce. She wasn't quick enough to make a decision. The only free person was Murray, who was currently sitting in the middle of the room. But there's no way he could do anything without Papa seeing.

Before she could utter a word, the soldier next to Mike unexpectedly fell on the ground. El wasn't sure what had happened until she looked over at him. Mike was acting more hurt than he actually was, and managed to stab the soldier with his knife while he was taken off guard. In a split second, El followed up with throwing the soldier next to Joyce and Hopper against the wall, and chucked Papa as far backwards as she could.

Mike recovered quickly, grabbing his gun and shooting the soldier next to him in the leg before he could come to his senses. Papa and the other soldier seemed to have taken the fall harder, and they seemed too dazed to move.

With a flick of her head, she untangled Murray, Joyce and Hopper from their binds as well as herself, freeing them. As for the other scientists, they ran the second gunshots went off. They didn't seem too interested in taking a fight.

Mike and El hurried over to Hopper and Joyce, helping them off the ground and Murray got himself situated. It wasn't long before alarm sounds went off above them.

Hopper grumbled as soon as his face cloth was ripped off. "Wheeler, that was incredibly stupid."

"Which part," Mike asked as he frantically, shouldering his backpack, helping Joyce up.

"All of this," He shook his head. "I haven't seen you in a year and this is my introduction to what Mike Wheeler has been up to."

"We don't have time for this," El shouted. "We need to go now!"

El and Mike led up the nearest staircase and all but ran through the hallways. Dozens of scientists were frantically moving through the halls, grabbing weapons and barricading themselves in their offices. The few that did bother them El took care of pretty easily. Though the groups kept getting larger, and before they knew it they were all but dodging bullets as they ran towards the exit.

Thankfully, they exited through the same door they came in, and found the van pretty easily. No one turned around to see if they were being watched. El pushed the group into the van and yelled at Jonathan. "Drive!"

"What-" Before he could get a sentence out, dozens of gunshots rang overhead. Jonathan started the car quickly and drove them out of there. Hopefully not being followed.

**A lot of action in this chapter, hopefully it isn't too messy and you all can follow along. We're getting closer to the finale with every chapter I write. Thanks for those of you who stuck around and commented if you have any questions or concerns! Have a good weekend and happy Halloween!**


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